Twenty-two Fridays
by sesshyrin4life
Summary: After 10 years, Rin Ishikawa is back in Japan. The twist and turns of her weekdays at Tokyo High all started with a Science Laboratory fire, forcing her class to share a room with the students from Junior-1 for two hours every Friday, a class which Sesshomaru Takahashi is also into. Will it take 22 fridays for two people to fall in love?
1. Chapter 1: Farewells and Hellos

**TWENTY-TWO FRIDAYS**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. **

**A/N: This is my first story ever, an Inuyasha (modern AU) high school fic. It's also my first time to write, so please bear with me as English isn't my native tongue, but don't worry I'll make sure to express my thoughts clearly as I could.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE – Farewells and Hellos**

LAX, CA

"You sure you'll be okay in there all by yourself?" Aunt Kaede asked her as she straightens Rin's scarf. It's her first time to head back in Japan after almost ten years. _An exciting yet frightening new phase in life_, being on her own seemed tough to do. Rin will surely miss her two and only remaining family, Aunt Kaede and her husband Uncle bill. They were the ones who raised her since she was six, yet somehow there exists a part of her which tells her to go back home as she feels incomplete without it.

_Without them… _Rin had decided.

Kaede had arranged for her to transfer to Tokyo High, one of the best schools in Japan which specializes in Academics, Sports and Music, too which she hoped to be a member, yet they didn't have slots for beginners. She has heard of the award-winning school music group called "KTM-12", best known for their magnificent music covers. Rin had been gifted with a beautiful singing voice she hoped to use after so many years of not talking because of the car accident which took out her entire family a decade ago.

"Honestly Auntie, we've talked about this a hundred times already. I'm sixteen and strong enough. Okay? I'm a big girl and I really want to do this." Rin said and gave her a nice reassuring smile that everyone loves.

"I agree, the place seems to be in a safe location anyway. Great start for you kiddo." Uncle Bill agreed.

"Fine. I gave you a cellphone with my number on it, make sure to call when the plane lands, the address, papers, credit cards, pocket money…"

"Yeah, yeah..." Rin started to roll her eyes in a bit of annoyance, but was touched at her aunt's words all at the same time.

"And don't give me that look. Take good care of yourself, alright?" Kaede tearfully said. She had treated Rin as her own even she is her dear sister's daughter since she and Bill cannot have kids of their own. "I'll miss you baby girl, and I'm so proud of you."

"You know I'll miss the both of you most. I love you Auntie, thanks for everything." She turned to kiss Kaede and Bill on their cheeks, even though she grew up in America she has never forgotten to be polite towards others.

"Calling all passengers to board Japan Airlines Flight 997…" Rin, Kaede and Bill group-hugged each other for the last time, said their farewells and best wishes as Rin tackles a new chapter in her life. _Independence sounds great,_ she thought.

Rin started to gleefully run through the boarding gates after fishing out her passport and ticket in the bag that Uncle Bill and Aunt Kaede had given her as a present for her sixteenth birthday just last November. Aunt Kaede and Uncle Bill is in the events business so they were able to provide Rin some ridiculously expensive stuff that she mostly didn't need.

She stopped at a full-length mirror and took in her reflection. Dressed in a brown leather jacket, white shirt with a drawing of a girl with butterflies covering her body, bleached cutoffs, ankle-length brown boots and a scarf, Rin Ishikawa looked very girl-next door yet very pretty. At 5'3'' her beauty was innocent and angelic, her brown doe eyes are equipped with long doll-like eyelashes, a dainty upturned nose, creamy complexion and small but very soft peach tinted lips. Her hair which was flying out like crazy when she was younger, was now tamer with new wavy raven locks which complements her heart-shaped face. Her dazzling smile which captivates the hearts of almost everyone who she gives it to, is basically plastered on her face as she now walks down the aisle to find her seat inside the plane.

Her excitement was almost uncontainable she almost dropped her carry-on luggage while putting it inside the compartment. Sitting down, she fished out her iPod and began to play a song which reminded her of mother singing. She closed her eyes and listened to the song reminiscing as she waits for the thirteen-hour flight on the way home.

_Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high…_

_There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby…_

As the song finally ended, Rin had slept smiling with only a single thought on her head.

_Otousan, Okaasan, Oniisan, Otoutosan, wait for me._

* * *

Hokkaido, Japan

It was a quite a chilly, spring in Hokkaido where one of the Takahashi's mansions reside. A beautiful day it is indeed with the Sakura trees in full bloom, various colors of flowers have surrounded the entire area, much to Izayoi's delight. It was going to be their last on their four-day short trip, and one person with long beautiful, silver hair cannot wait to be back at school.

He was a dog demon, a rare beauty. His aristocratic bone structure that he got from his biological mother and his father combined made him look truly intimidating and fearsome, pale porcelain-like skin, his eyes that had the color of the most spectacular sunset that one has ever seen, his markings which made him all the more mysterious, long, silver hair as soft as silk, a lean yet muscular build that matches his 6'5'' height, a deep baritone voice that had the power to command tens of thousands of people in the workforce, much less a student council and finally, that blue crescent moon he got from his mother, a royal family symbol he carried with pride. His character was quiet and cold, one that can even compete with the harshness of winter.

_What a completely idiotic idea this is, _a so called family vacation as his father had put it. _What a complete waste of time_, as he should be rendering his time with much more important things than spending it with his stupid half-brother who only knew to eat ramen, his step-mother who he never grew to accept and his father who knew nothing of Sesshomaru's misery. Why he put up with everything was due to his own maturity, one he had to use to cope with such difficult circumstances. Grabbing a John Grisham book that he had read twice, he quietly sits down on a corner to try and forget his annoyance.

After a few minutes of peace, a familiar noise from his own version of hell was calling out his name. From the corner of his eye, a silver headed half-demon with tanned skin and wide eyes that almost had the same color as his, appeared on the doorway.

"Hey jackass, it's lunchtime, better be at the table before food runs out" Inuyasha grunted out loud,

"If you feel the need to finish all of Izayoi's cooking then by all means go for it" Sesshomaru replied bitterly, desperate to send his half-brother away. _Idiot._

"Keh! Fine, just don't come crying when I do. And just so you know, I wouldn't invite you if Dad hadn't told me to, so I guess you better get your royal ass on the dining room right now." He said before he whisked out of the room to join both of his parents.

"Hn." Unlike him, he really has no manners. How incredibly foolish of that half-demon to think that he could summon him to the dining room just like that. How utterly despicable of him to think that he would even lay a finger on those dishes that woman had made. Gracefully rising on his seat, Sesshomaru dragged himself to where his parents are at right now. He sits down across Inuyasha, and nods to his father.

All the while Sesshomaru didn't talk except when his father would ask him some very important questions, while Inuyasha had been blabbering on how he hated to go back to school, the only reasons he was there was to see his ex-girlfriend Kikyo Fujihara, the student council Vice President who recently broke up with Inuyasha three months ago ,and to tease Kagome Higurashi, the cheerful and adorable young lady who Izayoi wanted for Inuyasha. Unlike his half-breed brother, Sesshomaru likes to bury himself with school activities and obligations, not because he loved school but because of his bleak relationship with his very own family.

The day ended in silence as they all got home. Inuyasha fell asleep on his bed early not preparing for the full day ahead tomorrow. Sesshomaru tried to get some rest but he couldn't. He snatched his phone on the bedside table and saw several texts from his girlfriend, Kagura.

"_Why haven't you been calling?"_

"_Will you come pick me up at school tomorrow?"_

"_You should know better than to ignore me, don't tell me you've left your phone back home while you were having fun in your little trip."_

"_Are you cheating on me?"_

_Cheating, huh?_ He thought. Kagura can become quite a nuisance these days. Their relationship has been going on for at least seven months. At first, things were sailing smooth. She was the most beautiful girl at school, even who never succumbs to female charms somehow captured a bit of his attention. They went on several dates, sent her expensive flowers and gifts, and even slept with her thrice- which was no problem at all- he knew how to please a woman. The Student President and the school's cheerleading captain, it was a match made in heaven—or so everyone thought.

About three months later rumors spread about Kagura dating several guys while in a relationship with Sesshomaru. One of them was Hakudoshi, a gorgeous demon who has white-lavender hair. Sometimes he could smell his disgusting stench all over her after their cheerleading practice. He got so angry and made a plot for him to be expelled at school. No, he wasn't angry because he loved Kagura, he is not the one to believe in love, but rather insulted by a person who tried to take away what was his. The demoness stopped cheating altogether when she knew Sesshomaru found out about her affair, she apologized to Sesshomaru tons of times and had tried to make up for everything. What good would it do, though? It's not as if he will ever trust her again. Sesshomaru couldn't care less so he let her game go on just until he finally gets tired of her.

He sighed, turned off the light and tried to go to sleep.

That night, he dreamt of long, wavy brown hair and light brown doe eyes.

* * *

Rin stopped at a grocery shop to gather supplies for the two weeks to come. She missed home terribly and it was sort of magical how fluent still she is with her Japanese, and how she easily found her way to places she would like to go to. The mall where she and her family used to go still stood and it made her cheer up. The house she lived on was placed on such a nice community, her neighbors to the left of her house was even surprised to see her at the doorstep, thinking she was just a nobody but as they got a closer look, they knew immediately it was their deceased neighbor's daughter. It was nice to finally again meet someone you know who would gladly share a cup of tea with you and even help you clean the old, dusty house. Imagine clearing up ten-year old dirty particles on every corner of the room all alone. Thank kami for vacuum cleaners. After ten days of patience and hard work, the place was finally livable.

She headed on to the checkout counter when a society magazine caught her eye. It was a cover of a beautiful looking dog demon family- an image of perfection. Prince Charles of England can eat shit if ever he meets the very handsome head of the family, Inutaisho Takahashi. The woman beside him, a human for certain, is a sight to behold wearing a champagne-colored beaded gown with a diamond-encrusted belt which surely is worth a million bucks. Also in the photo two impeccable-looking young men who both had their father's silver hair but looked very different to each other. The younger son seemed cockier and is very attractive with his olive-toned skin, but what caught Rin's eye was the elder brother who had pale skin, soul-piercing eyes and strange markings, exuding a more mysterious aura. His looks were beyond beautiful, he can easily pass as a sex god. _If I ever had a boyfriend who looked like him, no, scratch that, a trophy boyfriend. It'd be like winning the lottery! _

Which was one in a hundred million chances of course. In short, IMPOSSIBLE. _Just who do you think you are, silly girl? _Her subconscious said.

"NEXT PLEASE!" the woman in the cashier yelled.

_Oh crap I'm daydreaming again aren't I_? "Gomenasai." She mumbled as she began to unload the things from the cart. Afterwards, Rin went home and prepared her bag for her first day.

Finally lying in bed, she prayed to the gods that tomorrow will somehow be good to her. She has seen forums from the internet about transferees in Tokyo High being bullied on the first week of their classes by some demons. These stories involve a student being duct-taped on a pole, horrible school cafeteria sessions which causes some to eat food inside a bathroom cubicle. Bikes smashed, and lockers filled with either trash, a dead, rotten rat, used adult diapers, or materials. Half of these students immediately requested for a transfer, and she hopes it wouldn't be the same for her.

_If it did happen, won't someone come and save me? _Her thoughts suddenly tuned in to the pale, beautiful silver-headed man from the magazine, she didn't even know why.

She snapped her eyes shut and fell asleep.

* * *

Morning.

Another school year has begun and so has Rin's twenty-minute weekly ride to school. To say that she was excited was an understatement, as waking up at 5 a.m. is rather unusual for her. She adored the new uniform she purchased inside the school one week before classes started. It was a white long-sleeved shirt topped with a red tie and navy blue pinstriped jacket, matched with a navy blue checkered skirt. She wore her waist-length hair in a low side ponytail and her face free of make-up. There are students inside discussing which classes they might be in, wondering if their friends or crushes will be at the same room as theirs. The Junior Year is comprised of seven classes, thirty students each. Rin felt bad that she didn't know a single soul in school, but all would change today. She was determined to make a lot of friends here in Japan.

Entering the school, she saw herds of juniors and seniors fighting over a chance to look at the bulletin board where all class schedules are pinned. Demons of course, have used their sharp eyesight to get their schedules, other demons use brute strength and pushed weaklings out of the way, that includes her of course.

"WHAT THE HELL!" someone cried out from behind her.

Four stunning demonesses which she easily identified as snotty cheerleaders were the ones she accidentally bumped into when she was pushed backwards along with other students.

"Sorry I didn't mean to…", Rin said as she stood up brushing up the dust off her skirt.

The tall, seductive demoness with the ruby eyes interrupted her, "Well, maybe you should try to watch your back next time when weak humans such as yourself are pushed back! Don't you know who we are?"

"I don't know who you are but it's clearly not my fault bumping onto you." She pointed to the gigantic ogre demon who scared the heck out of the students in the front line.

YOU WENCH! You dare to blame others for lacking strength on your filthy human knees! The demoness spat bitterly.

"Maybe she forgot to eat her breakfast, Kagura."Another demoness with lavender-white hair chimed in. The four of them laughed until they were cut off by a strong spiritual presence behind their back.

"I see you're busy with your first bully for this school year ladies." Rin looked behind and saw a tall, beautiful, intelligent-looking woman with the long, purple-black hair.

"And what makes you think you can threaten us, Miss Vice President? Planning to send us to discipline on first day, aren't you?

"No worries, I don't intend to. Although the next time you get caught, I'll make sure to cut off the budget for your lovely costumes this year, let's see how brave you are dancing naked on your next cheering competition. Surely the men would be delighted, don't you think? Now leave her alone." The lady menacingly smiled.

Four pairs of eyes widened in shock. It's true. The student council was in control of 30% of the school budget, those are for extra-curricular activities such as cheerleading. They are not the ones to mess with. "Why you! Don't think you have the last of this, Kikyo." Kagura and the girls left in anger, glaring at the two human women still in the midst of other students.

_Wow that girl's amazing. _Rin thought. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Rin Ishikawa." She held out her hand and Kikyo shook it. "It is no problem, I am Kikyo Fujihara, are you a new student?"

"Yes, it's my first day. I was trying to get to my schedule when those four girls cornered me just because I bumped into them. I was pushed back actually." Rin replied.

"Is that so? Hold on a second." Kikyo went to the front as she grabbed a whistle from under her coat, and instructed all the students to form four straight lines. Students made way for her as she observed how inorganized all of them were and she loathed it, but is now using her power to beat bullies like Kagura and her little friends and those other who cause trouble in school. She wanted to run as President but ended up being VP, as Sesshomaru Takahashi beat her by a hundred votes. _Where is he, anyway? _Oh, of course.

Where the shrieking fan girls are, there would be the two of them be. Sesshomaru and his half-demon brother Inuyasha, who was her former boyfriend. Kikyo broke up with him three months ago because of her desire to be in the student council, and a boyfriend was no place in her life at the time being. _He looks well today_, she thought. Her eyes turned to the other silver-haired demon, who was now walking gracefully towards her. "You're late, Mister." She muttered.

"Hn." Comes his usual reply. "What was that commotion earlier about?"

"Funny you do ask, your girlfriend caused trouble on a transferee a moment ago, the students were disorganized but I took care of it."

Sesshomaru did not reply, but it was clear that he was not pleased. His eyes spotted Kagura, glaring at him probably because he did not pick her up today. She was mad at him, and somebody else received her wrath.

"Your taste in women is quite awful, don't you think?" Kikyo laughed.

"As do yours." Sesshomaru spat back, obviously referring to the hanyou.

After the students have finished getting their schedules, the school principal has given his welcoming speech on the stage. Rin watched as the principal made way for "KTM-12" to play an opening number. It was a song called "Sing". Everyone was delighted to hear them play again. Soon the school atmosphere was filled with good music, setting great vibes for Rin's first day at school. She gently swayed her head to the light-heartening beat of the song and went to her room as soon as it ended.

"Rin-san!" She turned around to see Kikyo walking towards her direction. She stopped and spent half a minute to tell her to be careful in the school while there are bullies both human and demon lurking around waiting for the next victim. Apparently, the student council had been working on significantly decreasing bully cases in school. She told Rin her class was at J-1 and to not be afraid to contact her when needed. Kikyo handed her number and went on to class after Rin thanked her for the last time.

She, too also proceeded to her home room at J-2, east wing of the school. Nakamoto-sensei, who was their class adviser had made them introduce themselves to the class as usual. Most of the demons in J-2 were of wolf demons, including twins named Ginta and Hakkaku who will have already earned their places as class clowns, and a pretty girl named Ayame Kaneko who had auburn hair and a pair of gorgeous emerald eyes. She was a member of the volleyball team. There was also Shippo Akebuchi, a fox demon, the youngest in class who is fond of pranks and magic tricks. It was Rin's turn to introduce herself in front of the class and all of her classmates watched her intently, never having seen her before. The human and demon males were fussing over such a new cutie classmate of theirs, Ayame rolled her eyes in irritation because some of the remarks were not very innocent ones.

"I'm Rin Ishikawa, 16, my family is pure Japanese but I grew up in California. I'm fond of going to the beach and playing music. It's nice to meet you all." Rin ended, afterwards, the adviser told her to sit on the second row just near Ayame. They caught each other's eyes and smiled.

* * *

After next three classes, the students went out for a thirty-minute break. Rin took her time off lunch for she was not hungry yet, instead roamed around the school grounds to explore. First she found the music club where some of the members chatting and some practicing guitar. She prayed there would be an opening soon. Her next stop were the school departments, she passed by the demon history department where there was a huge library. Probably not a good place to roam around when you're human and alone.

She stopped by a nearby bench under a tree and grabbed her sandwich from the brown paper bag she was clutching. She didn't want to face the cafeteria for now. _I wonder where is Kikyo-senpai?_

Five minutes later she heard a bunch of girls squealing over something. _Or someone? _They were all hiding behind the tree beside her though, she wondered why they would act like that. The girls seem as if they were spying on something. Out of Rin's curiosity she peeked out from the plantboxes, hearing a deep, manly voice that would make any woman swoon, talking to a math professor.

She finally stood up and saw…

_Wait… is that…_

He was the pale, perfect-looking demon from the society magazine she picked up last night. Rin couldn't believe her luck. She stood there and gaped. He was even more breathtaking in the flesh. _He was studying, here? _

Suddenly, the demon turned around in her direction as he felt several pairs of eyes watching him, in an attempt to scare them away. Handsome as he was, but the girls knew not to annoy him with all their flirtatious looks and excessive squealing. The demon simply felt disgusted by their mere presence although it wasn't showing on his face. Those girls who were nearby had run off already but one.

One girl had stayed.

The math professor was rambling on about a trip to Osaka when Sesshomaru was distracted by a sweet, flowery scent he has never encountered before and it was coming from the petite, raven-haired student whose back was turned from his as she watched the girls who were screaming earlier run off to their classes. All of his senses suddenly heightened, like a strange pull, him being drawn towards the girl who smells of mixed cherry blossoms and vanilla. Sesshomaru felt the need to see the girl's face right away.

The bell rang while Rin turned to steal one more glance at the demon again.

When she did, his amber eyes automatically locked to her chocolate ones.

He was already looking at her, silently scrutinizing her every angle. Her waist-length hair was brown and wavy, and her skin was creamy and rosy-pink that smelled of wildflowers. Her brown eyes were too large for her heart shaped face, button nose and peach-tinted lips he stared at far too long for his liking. She was an innocent, natural beauty, so small and fragile like a doll, Sesshomaru imagined how easy it would be carrying her around in his arms_. Where in Kami's name did that come from? She's far from your usual type, _he thought arguing with himself.

She blushed furiously under his intense gaze, thinking that she was losing grip but told herself to regain composure.

Finally, she gave the briefest yet most beautiful smile she has never given anyone before. Sesshomaru took a sharp intake of breath. At that short moment there were just the two of them, nothing else_. _

_Oh no, I have to be back at J-2 for History,_ Rin remembered.

"As I was telling you Takahashi… you should already be studying hard for the upcoming… Hey, are you listening?" Mr. Bankotsu scowled at him. Sesshomaru faced his teacher again and replied "I heard you the first time." He let the teacher babble on while at the corner of his eye he looked to the girl's way again; she was already gone.

_That smile, _he thought. No one ever dared to smile nor smirk nor look at him straight in the eye in the fear of earning a deadly glance and a place on his mental shit-list. This young lady though, did not smell of fear nor aversion or even lust like other women do, just kindness and pure admiration.

From the depths of his mind, he knew it was something he'll never forget anytime soon.

* * *

**And there goes my first chapter! (Please pardon me for wrong spelling/wrong usage of words/ grammar) I have been itching to get this story out of my head since September. Shall I continue? Please review and feel free to PM me for any questions/ clarifications/ reactions. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Last Three Words

**Twenty Two Fridays**

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**A/N: Thank you for the number of favorites, follows and reviews from you, my dear readers! It's such a huge honor for a first-timer such as myself. You guys inspire me to keep on writing, even if it means staying up a bit late for days!**

**Please take note that this is a feel-good story about Rin's high school life, and as much as I would like to put together the main scenes right away, (which is written in bullets in a notebook already) it won't look good, so I'm working out this story in a more reasonable pace.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Last Three Words**

Rin sprinted towards her Demon History class after lunch. Who would have thought that she would meet the man of her dreams during the first day of classes_? And Kami, the way he stared at me a while ago, even Antarctica would have melted._ Was there something wrong in her face? She pinched her left arm until she flinched with pain, trying to reassure herself that what happened earlier wasn't just a mere dream.

_Don't demons have superpowers? Maybe he had the ability to jump out of a magazine, because he was just too good to be true._ Rin recalled, the surname was Takahashi, and regretted that she was not able to get his name. He was hardly the approachable type, and to think that someone like her, a pathetic human girl would ask for his name because she didn't do her own research, might be swimming in her own pool of blood right now.

_Although…_

When she looked up at his intense sunset-colored eyes, there was warmth in them. Rin is fairly good at reading people. Even when his aura was cold and intimidating, his eyes spoke otherwise, causing for her to feel butterflies in her tummy and a feeling she could not describe. Until now, the presence of pink in her cheeks did not leave her angelic face even though he was already out of sight. Still running, she made a sharp left turn at the door next to her, absentmindedly entering a class.

A senior class that wasn't hers, with a demon professor and thirty other students all gaping at her.

_Crap._

Two seconds later, all them erupted in a huge laughter, with Rin still standing there. She prayed to the gods that somehow she was blessed with the demonic power to suddenly disappear from their faces. She carefully exited the room, tomato-faced and almost teary-eyed from the embarrassment.

_So much for first days._

* * *

Almost everything was possible now, since Rin was born in a time where demons peacefully coexisted with humans. Tokyo High were of mixed humans and demons. Just imagining that five hundred years ago their kind would be killed ruthlessly in wars, be it human or demon was horrifying enough. It certainly was good news settling a peace treaty between humans and demons in the 1800's. Gone were the days when men would be served as meals, or rotten corpses of centipedes and ogres shot by spiritual arrows scatter on the road. Those killings are far from over because a number of demons still prefer flesh even though engineered food for demons were now sold in department stores.

The class were listening attentively, yet her thoughts sometimes stray to various things. Missing Aunt Kaede and their daily afternoon chit-chat, her small flower garden back at California which nobody would tend to, Uncle Bill and his mean juicy baby-back ribs and hanging out with her old friends at the beach.

She snapped out of it once the professor explained about the stronger demons. It is said that the Dog Demons from the Western lands once ruled all of Japan. Most of them were abolished, there are only three remaining of them. The Takahashis, were from a prestigious line of Dog Demons. One was Inu No Taisho, aged 3000 in human years, his previous mate Fumiko now residing in New York, aged 1500, his elder son Sesshomaru, aged 700. The drastic change happened when Taisho took a human princess as his new mate, Izayoi. Together they conceived Inuyasha, a strong half-breed.

_Sesshomaru, Sesshomaru Takahashi was his name_, she repeated this several times inside her head and found out that she liked the way it rolled off her tongue. Sesshomaru and Rin sounded wonderful together, too. _Sesshomaru and Rin._

_Rin Takahashi._

"Excuse me dear, but his standards are surely way higher than your six-inch heels." her subconscious laughed bitterly. _OK, that's it, I'm drawing the line there, It's never ever, ever going to happen, ever. This stops now._

* * *

Junior-1's class (J-1)

Sesshomaru's boredom was indescribable, the lessons bored him to death and the only thing which was keeping him entertained was seeing his halfwit brother struggle in front of the white board as he solves an equation. He smirked as Inuyasha gave him a series of death glares. Sharing classes with a brother who was a pure fucking genius in everything he does was more than enough stress for him, add up this dickhead of a teacher who tells him to look up to his brother in every opportunity he has. As if this day couldn't get any worse, he sees Kagome, poorly hiding a giggle her lips in the second row and Kikyo who was looking down at her feet in embarrassment for him.

This is all Miroku's fault for trying to engage him in a perverted conversation about the things he wanted to do to Sango Harada on their first date this weekend. Inuyasha told him to "shut up" rather loudly when Bankotsu-sensei called him in the front to solve the problem. He eyed the purple-eyed guy venomously, _I'll get back to you soon perverted bastard! _

Miroku gave out a nervous laugh in return_. Geez, Inuyasha can be scary_, though nothing compared with the dog demon two seats away from him. He reminded himself to produce a good excuse to head on to medicine team early with Kikyo and Kagome, so he doesn't have to face Inuyasha's wrath later.

Little did he know, the half-demon has already made plans to ruin his upcoming date with Sango after class.

"I don't do numbers, OK?! What the hell do you want from me?!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Inuyasha, your brother can answer this with his eyes closed." Bankotsu sensei teased him.

"Oh yeah? Then maybe my brother can answer this stupid equation for you. Can I sit down now?"

"Sure, Inuyasha. SIT BOY!" Kagome answered for the teacher, then rolling her eyes to Sango. "He's such a jerk."

"Serves him just right." Sango wholeheartedly agreed.

Miroku and Kouga have pissed themselves laughing after watching Inuyasha land face first on the tiled floor. Everyone was laughing at the hanyou, except for Sesshomaru who still wore his usual emotionless face, and Kikyo now feeling pity towards him. Inuyasha cursed them all under his breath, still struggling to stand up.

_That nasty wench used that dreaded word again, _the half-breed scowled at the brown-eyed beauty in disbelief. Two years ago was when they first met, when he mistook Kagome for Kikyo. Kagome, then a new student, was insisting that her name was not "Kikyo". After five seconds of sniffing her uniform and hair, he did realize that she really did not smell like his ex-crush. He continued to blurt on how Kikyo was way prettier, and how the new student's hair looked unhealthy compared to hers. Kagome on the other hand, ranted about how he attractive he looked until he opened his stupid mouth, and called him a dumbass.

They hated each other ever since.

All the teasing went on for months, but there was one huge fight between them when Kagome was forced to use her spiritual powers to bind Inuyasha in a spell, using a strange beaded necklace from her grandpa's shrine. Now every time the half-breed lashes at her, putting him back into his place was a piece of cake. Kikyo started to hate her for that.

Inuyasha's face scrunched up in anger, Kagome, the perverted bastard, Sesshomaru and the mongrel_. All of them would pay,_ he swore to himself. Starting with Miroku.

* * *

Sesshomaru had been irritated all throughout the day. Five hundred years ago he would have easily silenced these low lives with a flick of his wrist. This was the hardest part of escaping that pit of hell his father called home, he had to be in the same room as them, even breathe the same air as them, which now is mixed with the disgusting stench of mortals, the half-breed and the mangy wolf. Up until now, Sesshomaru still considered them as vile, useless insects who only caused pollution and calamities.

A searing headache slowly rose up to the temples of his head when he suddenly thought of Kagura. He would have to deal with the woman later, the one who had been smearing his reputation as President. He thought of the many reasons to end up his connection to her. Kagura had slept with another low-life demon, causing for him to take a severe blow to his pride. Back then, he thought that she would have made a suitable mate. She was heiress to one of the biggest car business in the country, a merger that would surely benefit his father's company in a few years, and the ruby-eyed demoness isn't bad looking either. They shall produce strong, powerful, pups with unparalleled beauty_. Surely that was enough, wasn't it?_ Those were the reasons he kept up with this pathetic charade anyway.

That was the rational part of his mind told him, most of the time it was correct. However…

The other depth of his mind told him he only needed the right push to be able to break free from his cage. He, imprisoned? How?

His thoughts immediately drifted to the smiling girl he had seen during lunch, as if giving him answers to his questions. _She is human. _Sesshomaru have roamed around the world long enough to know that all humans smell the same- every single one of them covered with sweat and dirt—extremely unpleasant to his very keen sense of smell, yet this beauty intrigued him.

She possessed a sweet-smelling, floral fragrance that was rather sinfully addictive, even though he hardly had fondness for anything sweet. It made him wonder what it feels like to bury his face under her raven locks. His eyes slightly widened, he didn't even know her name, yet she was already stirring such inappropriate ideas in his head.

The demon reminisced the ten-second eye contact he shared with the human girl using his eidetic memory. The way her dark brown hair flowed with the fluttering leaves, the pretty pink blush on her cheeks as she shyly met his gaze, her angelic face that is void of makeup, a refreshing change from all those women who shamelessly turn their faces into coloring books.

_Profoundly different from Kagura._

Lastly, her smile, which made her all the more beautiful in his compulsively judgmental eyes. Centuries have passed and still Sesshomaru takes into account how a smile was nothing more than a waste of energy, a useless outward pulling of facial muscles in an attempt to express happiness. Not that he never did it before, yet it only involves things not related to it. Sure, he smirks every once in a while as he took pleasure of killing his enemies during the war, whenever he outsmarted business foes who threatened to take over his father's company, or witnessing his so called half-brother, who is a complete imbecile, get into trouble mostly due to his acute lack of brain cells.

Her smile was the only one he wanted to see, at least one more time. Period.

He scanned his surroundings, realizing that he has spent too much time thinking of the doe-eyed beauty from break time. Sesshomaru asked himself when he'd meet her again when his schedule had given him absolutely no time for it, regretting a bit for putting himself six feet under a pile of both academic and extra-curricular activities. There's so much to be done as of current since it's the start of the school year, he was student president now- absolutely in no position to make mistakes and shortcomings. He was a Takahashi, after all. Being a Takahashi demanded for one to be perfect in every way.

The bell rang, and Sesshomaru inwardly sighed as he stood up, along with his classmates. Some of them rushed out the door, totally excited to go home and watch their favorite TV series after a long day, others like Kikyo, Kagome and Miroku who had more important things to do headed to their own extra-curricular activities.

* * *

Rin decided to continue her venture in the school area for a few more hours, strolling around the grounds while putting a headphone to her ears. A song called "No One" by Aly and Aj was humming out of the device, as she glances at the huge light gray U-shaped building from worm's eye view. It was 3:45 p.m. on her watch, still too early to go home even as a bit of drowsiness took course inside her body. She stopped and sat on an old, muddy brown wrought-iron bench under nice shade of tree. The spring air smelled good, yet it was still chilly. It would have been great to share a cup of tea in here in this very spot with a friend_, if ever I had one._

She frowned in frustration, remembering earlier this morning she was supposed to make new friends, today. To her dismay, no one had talked to her in class yet, maybe they found her too strange? Too western? Intimidating? _No, please, no_. Kaede already knew about the bullying cases in Tokyo High, and promptly told her how important it is to make some friends on first day, since it lessens the chances of being picked on later. Her paranoid aunt even asked her for a single photo of her with new school friends for evidence. She never thought it was going to be this hard.

Rin fished out her cellphone from the brown leather satchel bag she brought, and took photos of the school yard. As she tried to capture the best angle, her camera flipped through a bunch of girls who were playing volleyball. Such pretty girls they were, and they were good at playing. Aside from being a fairly good swimmer, Rin was never the sporty type. She tried volleyball once, got hit by the flying circular object directly in the face by the star player (miraculously, her nose and teeth survived the assault) and swore never to play again. At a distance, she noticed Ayame Kaneko, her green-eyed classmate, preparing to serve. She turned her camera into the direction of the school garden right after that.

The demoness' eyebrows were concentrating furiously, assessing the amount of strength she's likely to infuse on the spherical thing. A hint of nervousness is seen across her face, as if she wasn't an experienced server yet. The other members were waiting intently for the ball to fly, but one was impatiently signaling for her to go ahead and toss it away.

"GIVE IT TO ME, BABY!" a tall, brown-haired lady with pink eyeshadows cried out, her arms and knees ready for the upcoming attack.

"Here it comes!" Ayame laughed anxiously as she violently launched the ball like a torpedo, all with her demonic strength. Her green eyes eyed it consciously, and then froze. It seems that she underestimated her own strength, as the ball flew over the players on the other side of the net easily, and is now hurling downwards towards someone's direction. If that forceful object ever slams in the human girl's head, she surely would…

"STOP IT! STOP THE BALL!" Ayame was already screaming at the top of her lungs. The female hawk youkais tried to stop it, but they were no match for the speed that the circular body had, already permeated with the wolf heiress' super strength. Rin was just done capturing the flowers from the garden, when she looked up to see a ball coming her way, and fast, threatening to hit her in less than two seconds.

Barely having the time to move away from the impending collision, she bowed down and covered her head with her two slim arms. _Please oh please don't let me die today, I'll do anything… _she silently prayed for any magical force who would come to rescue her, someone, _anyone. _

Rin produced a blood-curdling shriek, moving everyone's heart beat into a frantic pace.

"OH MY GOD!" The girls screeched all at once, frightened for the mortal girl's life. There was no way of saving her, with the ball just a mere meter away from her body.

A flash of white, much faster than the approaching small mass of demonic energy, swooped in and effortlessly slashed it with his immensely sharp claws. It positioned itself just right in front of Rin, as if purposely shielding her away from harm. The doe-eyed girl, with her head still covered by her delicate human limbs, stood up and only saw _white._

Maybe she died and went straight to heaven, but no. From the background, sounds from the volleyball players and other students cheering aloud in relief could be heard. "She's alright!" one girl informed.

For the second time this day she pinched her left arm awfully, then dragging her eyes to the being in front of her.

_White hair. Could this be…?_

The silver-headed man who served as the knight in the shining armor turned around to face her. Rin's eyes grew into the size of saucers.

* * *

The female athletes formed a straight, horizontal line just across her, with Ayame in the center. Altogether, they apologized for the danger they had caused. Rin told them that there was no need for it because it was unintended on their part.

"Seriously, guys, it's okay. What's important is that no one is harmed, ne?" her voice speaking softly, smiling at them.

Ayame was still worried. "Are you sure you're fine? That ball almost had your head, I—I don't think I'll be able to forgive myself if my carelessness caused death to someone."

"_Hai. _I'm fine, it's all thanks to _him_." Her eyes darted to the guardian angel of the day.

"No problem, though I still couldn't figure out what's gotten into your head, sitting here when it's obviously a danger zone." the half-demon with funny-looking puppy ears, Inuyasha Takahashi replied. _His brother._

"Inuyasha, it's not her fault!" The girl with round chocolate eyes and jet black hair was explaining to her, "We could've practiced at the gym, but other players were using it."

"Well now you know, no sitting here during practice, girlie."

"I'm sorry." Rin frowned, "The view is just really nice and I never knew something like this would happen."

"She's right Inuyasha, the view is reeeaallly niiice." A man with purple eyes spoke from behind, enjoying the view of the players wearing navy blue shorts which exposed their silky, smooth thighs and legs. Absolutely mouth-watering. He just came out of hiding, fearing that Inuyasha will beat him roughly after school. This was a safe zone.

_Bastard. _Inuyasha gave Miroku a nice smack in the head that caused a hue lump, instantly apologizing for pulling him into mishap earlier. He continued to prattle about the embarrassment it has caused, as the four other girls blankly stared in confusion. Ayame's the one to break the silence and focused on the transferee.

"Oh, please forgive my manners, I haven't introduced myself and my friends to you. I'm Ayame, these are my best friends Kagome and Sango. You're the new girl, right?" she asked.

"Yes, my name is Rin, nice to meet you." She was happily waving at the three girls, when all of a sudden Miroku cut in front of her.

"Rin, what a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl, I'm Miroku Shibata, will you please marry me and bear my children?" He asked playfully, not minding the girl he was originally courting was just a few feet away. His right arm quietly made its way to the edges of Rin's skirt, but wasn't missed by Sango's already flaming eyes.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned is true indeed, as two red slap marks covered both sides of his cheeks. "Don't you even dare, you creep!" Sango apologized to a slightly shocked Rin, along with Miroku who was still hurt from the two mega smacks he received. She had Inuyasha to take him away for a little while, but it's not as if she minded at all, although she felt a bit of envy as she saw how tight-knitted their friendship was.

"Oh, I got an idea! Since you're new here, why don't you sit with us at lunchtime? That way you won't feel out of place here" Kagome offered. Rin seems lovely and unusually kind unlike _others_, it would be a shame not to be friends with someone like her.

"Really?" She didn't believe it, if almost getting hit from a volleyball game would win her a seat in the cafeteria plus new friends, then she'll be happy to take it anytime. "Of course you can stay with us, Rin." Kagome assured their new friend.

Ayame and Sango were thrilled to have an additional member in their circle. "Oh my God, I can totally see it right now, our little clique called A.R.K.S.! Ayame, Rin, Kagome, Sango. Isn't it cute?" suggested the wolf demoness.

"Why ARKS?" Sango asked out of curiosity.

"Well that's because we are vessels of beauty…" she explains before the half-breed interrupted her.

"WHAT BEAUTY? I don't recall finding beauty in_ someone_ who takes pleasure from making me _sit_ in class!" he stated while glaring at Kagome. Kagome gave him an equally frightening look.

"Then maybe you can stop acting like an ass in front of our teacher! She continues. "Fine. I promise I won't make you sit today because you saved Rin, but don't think you'll get lucky next time."

*CRASH*

"Uhh, Kagome, I think you already did though." Rin pointed to Inuyasha.

"What?"

Inuyasha had already tumbled down to the ground as soon as she said the S-word. The group poorly managed to hold their giggles at the funny sight. Kagome put her palms in her face while silently scolding herself. _Epic fail_.

The tension between the two was still high up in the air, and it took a few seconds before Rin sighed said something. "Sorry guys but I'm a bit hungry, I'll head off home now to cook some barbeque." she noticed all of them blink at her once, sounds of their purring stomach, too. "Unless you'd like to join me?"

Needless to say, they did.

Inuyasha and Miroku said their thanks and went home straight away after the meal, leaving the girls to their own. They told each other stories about their lives, watched a movie and talked some more. They stayed until 8 p.m., which was pretty fine since they discovered that the four of them lived near each other. That evening, Rin didn't send only one photo to Kaede, but ten.

They were inseparable ever since.

* * *

It was eight in the evening, Sesshomaru sneered in annoyance. He was an Inutaiyoukai whose power had no limits, he always had work to be done for what seemed like endless hours but it only took a bit of energy from his body.

Spending only fifteen minutes quarreling with Kagura, however, was an entirely different story. Simply put, she drained his patience to the last drop, he was forced to end their relationship for the better.

Wiping a trail of blood from his right hand, he relived the conversation he had with her, making him burn with rage.

_-Flashback-_

_Sesshomaru was on his way to his black r8 where Kagura was already waiting for him as usual. He opened the door for her and the two of them drove to her place in awkward silence. He picked up Kagura's displeasure from earlier this morning, her cherry-red eyes demanding an acceptable explanation. He ignored it and continued to drive smoothly, focusing on the road instead. They stopped in front of the massive gates that guards the mansion._

"_We are here." Sesshomaru declared, following another awkward silence. Kagura made eye contact with him._

"_Sesshomaru, I've had enough of this, whatever your reason for not speaking to me, it has to stop." Another round of quiet, nothing from Sesshomaru, who was now staring at a distance._

"_First, you didn't call me for seven days, seven fucking days, then failed to pick me up at my place which you never did before, and now this." She continued "What the hell is wrong with you?"_

_She ranted more._

"_Or maybe you're really cheating, aren't you? YOU DOG! You always hang out with that Kikyo bitch after school! My friends swear they saw you making out with her, a human for Kami's sake!'' _

_Sesshomaru snorted, reminded himself to murder those friends of hers later on, spread their blood on the school grounds like peanut butter, just as they have spread lies involving him._

"_Kagura, I have no time for this."_

"_You always have no time! Well, guess what, I don't give a shit anymore!" Kagura slammed the door shut._

_He noticed that she left her purse inside, a black vintage chanel he gifted to her six months ago. He dragged himself out of the car to give it to her._

_How dare accuse him of something like that, as if he didn't know already, she was busy whoring with another demon in school. If his pride was a punching bag, it would be utterly beaten and torn, but still hanging. Kami, give me enough strength to not strangle her. _

_Sesshomaru grabbed her wrists and she turned around to face him. He's gorgeous, and all mine Kagura thought. He opened her palm, putting the leather bag in it. He still wore that emotionless mask but deep inside, all the taiyoukai wanted is the sight of her rotten body swarming with worms._

_She was sure he was going to apologize to her, but only said "I won't be here tomorrow."_

"_I know." She raised her eyebrows, seething with anger. Sesshomaru took two steps right in front of her. "I have yet to continue my sentence." He continued._

"_I won't be here tomorrow, the next day and the days which will follow. He took a deep breath._

_Kagura, WE ARE THROUGH." Sesshomaru made sure he carefully stressed the last three words to her._

_The ruby eyes stretched out in complete shock at first. "You seem to be so sure, so sure." Tears of rejection flowed out of them. Lashing out in hatred, she did the unthinkable thing. BLADES OF BLOOD!"_

_Flashes of red from the knife-like series of wind engulfed the atmosphere, but Sesshomaru's demonic aura alone easily overpowered them. His pupils switched to a blood-like color, claws sharpened at the sight of his car ruined. Somehow she managed to injure the demon on his right hand, small amounts of red liquid leaking from a small wound._

_Kagura knelt to her knees and stared to cry pathetically in defeat. "You'll never be able replace me, never Sesshomaru, remember that." She looked up to see Sesshomaru have already disappeared._

_-Flashback ends-_

* * *

For the first time in seven months, he felt better, like a fish bone had been drawn out of his neck. He will have to purchase a new vehicle tomorrow now that the r8 had been ruined. Sesshomaru didn't know what to make out of it, since he shared it with the one who did the wreckage anyway.

As he walk into the dark foyer of their own mansion in Tokyo, a small green imp stepped out of the shadows to greet him.

"Milord! You are injured! Was it that stupid girl called Kagura? What happened to your car?"

"You're going to purchase a new one for me tomorrow morning. Now, leave." He said, not giving anything away.

"Yes Milord!" the imp obediently backed off, his Lord Sesshomaru was definitely in a bad mood and he didn't want to be thrown objects at again, like the last time. Five hundred years ago it was only rocks, now it's expensive marble sculptures he liked to use, ten times the size of them.

A familiar voice in an expensive robe came out of the master's bedroom. His father didn't ask him of his injuries anymore, he could properly smell who did it to him, but now inquiring about something else.

"What happens now, Sesshomaru? I thought Kagura was your intended."

"I'll find a replacement.'' He said, treating his ex-girlfriend like a piece of furniture.

Taisho stayed silent for a while, yet he was actually relieved. Despite Kagura's family's wealth, he also wanted his son to find a happy marriage like he did with Izayoi, but that wasn't the case with the Yokohama heiress. Furthermore, he has always trusted his son's decisions.

"Take your time, son." He decided, proceeding to get a drink from the bar.

"Hn." He briefly remembered his then-girlfriend's words. _"You'll never be able replace me, never Sesshomaru, remember that." _

What manner of force pushed him into ending his relationship with her, he didn't know. Yet, sometime within making his decision, an innocent beauty's smiling face flashed in his mind.

_Yes, Kagura, I will._

* * *

**Second chapter finally done! I struggled to write Sesshomaru but I hope I portrayed him satisfactorily. HOORAY FOR HIM DUMPING KAGURA! Again pardon me for grammar/vocabulary/spelling problems I might have overlooked.**

**Next chapter: The School fire! It's set a month after this chapter, what happens when Science lab 3 burns down? Also I'll write a scene where Rin was given a chance to sing with a member of KTM12 inside the music room. I might cut down the chapter to 2k words, but it depends.**

**Please, please, REVIEW. I love reading your comments about this story. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: The School Fire

**Twenty Two Fridays Chapter 3**

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. **

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites! I make count of every single response that you do and you have no idea how it makes me happy. So, I'm finally back for chapter three! LET'S GET THIS STORY ROLLING!**

* * *

**Chapter Three: The School Fire**

-One month after the first day of school-

"So why are your parents so strict with you Sango?" Kagome inquired her star-player friend who has finished untying her tennis shoes. It was _four thirty_ in the afternoon at school, just as the sun was preparing to set, they, too were about to head straight home. Rin, who had nothing else to do watched them practice their game for an hour, listened to three of her newfound friends chatting away. The four of them went out of the enormous school gates, two rows of colorful trees greeting them.

"Correction. Parent. Well my dad is just basically overprotective of me, he's afraid of me getting married so early and then leaving him behind."

"More like no one's going to _cook_ for him once Miroku takes you away!" The girls laughed at Ayame's remark, ready to bring out humor out of everything they discuss. The issue was about Sango not being allowed to any sleepovers or late-midnight parties.

"I know, without me, dad and Kohaku will certainly burn the house down!" Sighing, she went on, "Did you know Miroku practically begged my dad for a date? They sat across each other on the living room with a gun in the middle of the table. A GUN! Gosh, it was so embarrassing!" They guffawed at that as they walked out of the enormous gates, two rows of flowery trees greeting them. Tokyo high was a good five-minute walk from the train station and the four girls with a unique beauty of their own took their time. Actually, Ayame can reach her place in five minutes thanks to her unworldly speed yet she insisted on joining them anyway.

"A gun?! Wow, you're dad sure's high-handed! At least grandpa and mom somehow loosened their leash on me when I turned 15!" Kagome's squeaky voice took over, "I wish we could all be like Rin, free as a bird for sleepovers and nightclubs! Right?" Daydreaming, she pressed both of her palms to each other, as if praying, when suddenly Rin spoke after minutes of listening.

"Uhm, my folks and my two brothers trust me.", she lied. Rin haven't explained to them her home-alone situation, nor the loss of her family ten years ago to anyone in school. She hated the idea of ruining somebody else's happy moment, always keeping all the drama to herself. Also, it would be dangerous to let anyone know that she's living companionless at the time being, so it's best for her friends not to be informed of it.

"Well, unlike all of you, my tribe is just itching for me to get mated. They won't even let me pick the guy. _Okaa-san_ told me he goes to our school, too. I just hope it's not that spawn from hell called Kouga..."

Ayame stopped in her tracks when she picked up voices from a group ten meters, one playing a guitar. "Kagome, your brother is on his way here." The girl with the jet-black hair's head swung to the direction the demoness pointed at, and there she saw her only brother_, Souta Higurashi_ from class 3. Rin was busy talking to Sango at the time, so Kagome _wordlessly left_ the three to meet his brother halfway.

"Hey Souta! Over here!"

As soon as he told the band to move on without him, Souta bolted towards her like a ten-year old kid, prepared to face his sister's inquisitive mouth. "Just what time will you be_ home_ again?"

"Sorry, tell mom I'll be late tonight!" Kagome continued to scold him but Souta was equally relentless. He sped off in another half minute with his friends who like him, were music lovers. _Band. Practice. Music. Video recording for YouTube. Well, at least he's not doing drugs._ She laughed at that, silently proud of his brother's achievements. He was lead male singer for KTM12, known for his deep, rich voice, easily a favorite in every cover they make. They're so popular, they garner an average of a million views per video, their audience mostly teenagers and young adults.

Kagome walked back to her own little group, without Rin meeting her brother who was from the school band. Actually, they still don't know anything about her singing history as of current.

"My brother's always so busy with his music and everything, he always comes in late in the evening. Mom's getting worried..." She tells her friends once they have jumped on the train.

"Band? You mean from the school?" the doe-eyed girl spoke aloud more than she'd like to, much to her excitement. "Which one?"

"Souta, I was with him earlier but you two, (pointing to Sango) were busy."

"Seriously?! Tell him I'm a huge fan of them!" She squealed. So Souta is Kagome's brother from KTM12, an _acronym _for _Koe To Memo_ (Voices and Notes), 12 referring to _12_ members. Souta Higurashi has this amazing velvety voice, plus he can also play the keyboard and the violin. In reality, all twelve of them can sing and play at least 2-3 types of musical instruments, except for the lead female named _Tsubaki._

"Yeah, aren't they cool? That's why Tokyo High spends money on them!" Ayame cheerfully added, "They're the awesomest school club ever, in my opinion. So freaking prestigious."

"Oh. Which reminds me Rin, have you ever thought of joining a club which you like? You know you're always welcome in our team!" Sango jokingly said, knowing her new friend's huge dislike for volleyball. It has been a month now since she entered Tokyo High, a school where 50% of the students take in extracurricular activites as extra credits to get more grades.

"Great idea! We're sure to snag the championships that way!." She almost gave Sango an eye-roll at her teasing. "Hmm. Clubs, I haven't figured out yet." The rest of the day ended up with Kagome telling her that school clubs will have openings in another 2-3 weeks, which made her all the more frustrated. She couldn't think of joining anywhere except the music club, the other option would be not joining anything, not when KTM12 doesn't have any opportunities nor auditions for someone like her as of yet_. They're still complete so it's entirely hopeless._

* * *

-The Next Day ( A Friday)

It was lunchtime, whenever she gets a few spare minutes, Rin visits the music room as per usual. Her hands drifted to a small bulletin board on the right side of the cream-colored wooden door, and saw nothing. _No openings._ She sighed inwardly, staring at the door for a good twenty seconds.

"I wonder what's inside." She murmured while slightly opening the door out of curiosity. A few centimeters of opening lead Rin to someone playing the keyboard flawlessly, it was a piece she knew about. The male student, the only one inside the room was pretty much preoccupied with his fingers that he failed to notice another student coming in. He continued playing it perfectly, carefully pressing each of the keys in order to create a pitch-perfect rendition of the piece. The glorious melody from the song penetrated deeply not only inside the room but in their souls, causing both persons to feel at ease. In what felt like seconds, three minutes ended so abruptly, yet still perfect.

The keyboardist paused for another while when all of a sudden, a few claps from small bare hands were heard at the back. He turned around to see a pretty girl whose eyes too large for her small face still clapping softly.

"Hi. You played beautifully." Rin said while offering a hearty smile.

"Thank you." He said, still a bit disarmed from the girl's beauty. "You're one of Kagome's friends, right?"

"_Hai_, I'm Rin, pleased to meet you Souta," she giggles, "in the flesh." She moved a few steps forward to shake his hand. Still smiling at each other, Souta gestured for her to sit down by his side, wondering about how the girl found out his name. Hah, of course, the sister told her. The girl muttered a small _thank you_ before sitting down him.

"I'd be asking for an autograph but I don't have a notebook and a sharpie today."

"Don't be ridiculous, it's not as if we don't see each other every morning," Rin was confused. The last time she saw one of the members was last week, nodded her head to the side, waiting for an explanation.

"You come by the bulletin board almost every lunch, right?" the male was just trying to double-check. She squirmed at the thought of someone _spying _on her every other day checking for openings. He or other members might have been musing about how_ hopeless_ she was. Shyly, she admitted.

He inquired no more as he felt traces of the girl's discomfort on the topic, instead, asking her something else.

"You play?" She nodded.

"A little. Not as good as you."

"Wanna sing this piece with me? I'm practicing this song, it supposed to be a duet but I guess I'll be alone for a while. My friends are busy catching up with their assignments." He hesitatingly asked, he didn't even know if the girl can sing or not, just trying to switch the mood to a lighter one.

Her eyes widened in amazement, she, a nobody, is going to sing a song with the Souta Higurashi!_ I'm gonna call my aunt… I'LL CALL HER RIGHT NOW!_

"Mind if I _record_ this?" He stood up and set the video recorder.

"NO! No—not at all." She stuttered, and then nervously glanced around the off-white walls searching for a mirror. She suddenly became a bit conscious and started putting her hair in place, her heartbeat doubling every second. Souta noticed her nervousness, hands _combing _her long, brown hair.

_She's such a cutie_, he silently thought_, I wonder if there's more to it than the face._

"Don't worry, I'm not uploading this, just for reference." _Oh thank God for that, _with Souta announcing that, her muscles started to relax. Rin remembered what her voice coach said, _tension is not good for your voice. _Emptying the water bottle from the school cafeteria, she recited her one-word mantra used solely for stage frights. _"Relax. Relax. Relax."_

The male lead positioned himself in front of the keyboard and Rin also took a seat two feet away from him. Everything was set.

"Ready?"

"Ready." The song was called "_Itoshisugite_" performed by KG and Tiara, and as the piano's sounds set in, all they could to is to absorb the notes coming from it. She looked down at her hands which were currently intertwined, sometimes closing it. Souta began to sing in a solemn way, matching the song's theme about an _unrequited love._

[SOUTA]  
Itsu no ma ni  
konna ni mo kimi o suki ni natte shimattan darou  
hoka no dareka no ude de  
nemuru kimi o shitte iru no ni

nande mo nai kotoba de  
warau kimi no sugata ga mune ni yakitsuku yo  
All I wanna do tsuyoku dakishimenagara  
I'm in love with you, 'cause you're the one for me  
sono mama de itai yo

[RIN]  
kimi to kawasu kotoba  
kimi to sugosu jikan  
subete itoshisugite takaramono da yo  
isshoni wa narenai to  
wakatteta hazu na no ni  
kimi o motometeru yo  
dakara never ever let you go

[SOUTA]  
itsumo kimi kara no MEIRU matteta  
keitai no juuden ki ni shinagara  
datte donna toki mo kimi to wa tsunagatte itakute

[BOTH]  
"hoka no dare yori suki da yo." ietanara  
sukoshi demo raku ni nareru kana  
All I wanna do hohoemu kimi no soba de  
I'm in love with you, 'cause you're the one for me  
sou shinjitetai yo

[RIN]  
kimi to kawasu kotoba  
kimi to sugosu jikan  
subete itoshisugite takaramono da yo  
isshoni wa narenai to  
wakatteta hazu na no ni  
kimi o motometeru yo  
dakara never ever let you go

[SOUTA]  
itsuka futari

[RIN]  
te o tsunai de

[SOUTA]  
narande

[RIN]  
arukeru kana

[SOUTA]  
kono mama  
ja nani mo kawaranai  
demo

[RIN]  
demo

[Both]  
ushinaitakunai

[RIN]  
hitori samishii yoru mo  
kokoro ga oreta toki mo  
itsumo ki ga tsuitara  
tasukerareteta yo  
kimi ni totte no boku to  
boku ni totte no kimi wa  
chigau mama na no kana  
isshoni naranai kana

[both]  
kimi to kawasu kotoba  
kimi to sugosu jikan  
subete itoshisugite takaramono da yo  
isshoni wa narenai to  
wakatteta hazu na no ni  
kimi o motometeru yo  
dakara never ever let you go

I wanna be the one for you, 'cause you are the one  
I wanna be the one for you, 'cause you are the one

* * *

Souta stopped playing, his eyes staring at Rin in _complete shock._

"….."

It took a moment for him to speak again. "Wow. Nice vocals."

She sounded so GOOOD. Even better than Tsubaki.

"Kami, you are _amazing_." He could not find any further words to say. Rin mouthed a thank you in return, feeling humbled that someone big as him thinks her voice is great, she also complimented his singing but he waved it away.

"How long have you been singing?"

"Since I was two."

They began talking about her singing background, and Rin responded to his questions in an earnest manner. Souta began to feel_ sorry_ for KTM12, the new girl is huge talent. If there were at least one more opening, then he would offer it only to her. Unfortunately for the two of them, the bell rang, calling students back to their homerooms. Rin was about to wave _goodbye_ but almost forgot to tell Souta something.

"Please don't tell anyone about this."

"Why not? You should go out more!"

"Not yet, sorry… I'll talk to you later!" She took her leave and went back for history, leaving Souta in the corridor who was still wondering why. He grabbed the recorder from the stand, and accessed the _gallery. _

_Only to realize he failed to record the whole thing._

* * *

Science Lab 1 at 2:30 pm

It was one hour into the Science lecture when the students heard the _fire alarm._ Sesshomaru and Kikyo immediately had their group form into two lines and led the way outside the building. The demon gazed upon the other Science Lab now belching with tons of _black smoke_ soaring up to the atmosphere. He wondered if a bunch of idiots who failed to mixed chemicals correctly did it, or something else. Kouga, who was the fastest of them all, along with Inuyasha who's covered with his robe of the fire rat, were sent to the rooms to see if all students got out _safely, _while him and the VP organize the crowd downstairs.

He quickly ordered the students to calm down and make a head count. Kikyo, Miroku, and Kagome from the medical team gathered supplies for the students affected by the smoke. Thankfully, the people were still and quiet as their professors told them to be, all them waiting for the fire to _burn out_. The tension, the fright and worry was felt around the area, even more so when an explosion from the Science Lab 2 was heard. It was _a traumatizing_ event, the fire now speeding ahead towards its next victim, a utility room. The school officials called for the _water demons_ to put out the fire, and with the fire in a span of seven minutes they haven't arrived yet. Parents have been calling to check their kids on the school but electricity was cut off temporarily.

Sango was especially apprehensive. She knew that Science Lab two was where her bestfriends Ayame and Rin are presently having classes. She was about to call them in their cellphones, but her face relaxed a bit as she saw a troop of juniors covering their faces with handkerchiefs led by Inuyasha and Kouga. Some of them were coughing, teary-eyed caused by the smoke. She spotted Ayame and ran all the way, hugging her and wiping her face with wet tissues. Sesshomaru had sped there, too in an instant. The group appeared to have been running downstairs, some of the girls crying about how rapid the fire had spread. Before the stories, junior class 2 made a headcount as instructed.

"…_**29**__…_ Oh no…" Ayame's face froze in horror as she remembered. _Rin's voice…_

* * *

_**-Flashback-**_

"_Hey I gotta go and pee." came out a slow whisper from Rin who was evidently bored, lazy eyes showing from rubbing._

"_You mean the restroom behind? Didn't the teacher say that the door lock there was broken? You'll get stuck." Ayame suggested another near restroom two rooms away from the lab._

"_What? Nevermind, I really have to go now, I'll text you if I got locked in. You'll help me right?"_

"_Fine, make it quick."_

_**-Flashback ends-**_

* * *

_Oh shit._

"Inuyasha! Rin's still inside the restroom!" she said, causing the whole school more intense panic. Kagome nearly dropped the bag-valve mask she was holding.

How could she forget? _What kind of a friend are you?_ She was too busy running for her own life, the adrenaline rush was so high that she forgot about her. She checked her cellphone, a message from Rin.

-_"Help_"- This time, Ayame was sobbing. _Please let her be alive, please oh please oh please-_

"What?! And you tell us only now?!" the wolf and the half-demon replied together.

_Worthless fools. _What part of his orders did these morons not understand clearly? Gathering_ all _students was such a simple task, yet they failed to do so. Sesshomaru stared at Kouga and Inuyasha angrily.

"Rin, Please! Save her! GOOOOOO!" came from the anguished Sango.

The three demons, Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kouga made way onto the burning laboratory. With all their heightened senses, the only thing they could see was gray and orange. It was tougher for them because their sense of smell was more powerful than regular demons, even if they are stronger, they too cannot be exposed to poisonous chemicals for a long time.

Speaking of which, basing on how gaseous and hot the atmosphere in this room is, it is not possible for the human girl to survive, unless she could be able to hold her breath for a long time.

"In here!" Inuyasha pointed to what looked like a bathroom door behind the lab. Miraculously, the small, hidden area was not yet engulfed in flames, but she surely could have passed out, what with the lethal amount of smoke surrounding it. Inuyasha turned the knob, just to realize that it was broken.

Sesshomaru and Kouga followed in a second, and there they could smell the girl, who is no longer breathing.

The silver-headed demon though, had other thoughts in mind. _That scent. _He gave the door one, swift but careful punch and there he saw,

"…"

_The girl from lunchtime…_

She was all wet (like a drowned rat, probably in an attempt to avoid burns), a gray scarf tightly sheltering her face, her eyes shut as if concentrating on something. His eyes softened at the sight, out of pity, but also blaming himself a little bit for not having saved her earlier. Sesshomaru was glad to finally find her at last_, but not like this. _Her heart silently beating was a sound he never expected to find relief in, but first things first. The four of them had to get out of there.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Kouga finally announces as he took Rin in his arms. Unknowingly, Sesshomaru scowled at Kouga for taking the girl _away from him_ first before he ever laid a hand on her. His eyes never left hers all throughout the ordeal. Inuyasha took off his robe and covered Rin to avoid the fire.

The doe-eyed girl lost her concentration upon hearing other voices. In an instant, strong arms swept her off from the sitting position in the toilet. Her gray scarf which she brings every day to school still covered her face, but now opened her eyes slightly to scan the whole area. Done with holding her breath for about four minutes, she drew a few gasps of smoke-filled air and coughed a bit. _No, no coughing Rin._ She looked around to see the place, it was totally unrecognizable, and wondered if all her classmates got out safely. Always thinking about other over her own, she remembered Ayame_. I hope she's okay, just like me._ Her eyes strayed to the guy who was doing the carrying, the one with mid-length black hair_, and is that_ _Inuyasha?, _and another male whose eyes she felt hovering on her. Within ten seconds, the four off them finally saw daylight. They jumped off the balcony as another tiny explosion from inside happened.

The crowd _cheered _in relief as well, the medical team advancing towards them, Kagome running first. Kouga set her down in a seat, and Miroku _uncovered_ her quickly and put the bag-valve mask on her to re-ventilate her lungs. All of her friends and other classmates wanted to move and hug her, but decided to give her some air.

Sesshomaru's pale face was even more paler out of worry, an emotion he never had dealt with before; seeing her clothes and hair soaking wet, but amidst of the charcoal dirt which stained parts of cheeks and nose, she still looked very pretty. He watched her breathe in and out of the mask unsteadily, taking all the oxygen she could, her eyes a bit red from the fire, and the tears. A tug in the middle of his chest was felt seeing those water droplets flow down her face. He hated to imagine what would have happened to her if they were not able to save her in time.

The deafening sirens from outside the school signals the approach of the water demons and policemen, and started putting out the fire. Everything was under control and all students were now being sent home early.

Once she felt a bit more comfortable, Rin pushed the mask away, and tried to stand up. "No, don't. It'll help if you sit down and relax." Kagome instructed her, and offered her some water. "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thank you." It was the first words she uttered since her cry for help. A while ago, everything felt so hazy, but she was glad to be rescued. Bowing down to all those in front of her in sitting position, even if it meant saying from a scratchy throat, a simple "Arigato Gozaimasu" came out from small lips, and a series of small coughs followed.

Sesshomaru stood at three feet away, the sight of her looking so disheveled bothered him so much. He strolled towards the girl, _so her name is Rin._ Her name, and her sweet voice both which was now officially recorded in his mind sounded pleasant to him. He stopped just in front of her, and instructed the women,

"Go find her some suitable clothing."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-senpai". The girls heeded right away, and started their search. Inuyasha and Kouga went to their lockers for a change of clothes, but not before looking at the dog demon and the human girl they rescued. "You don't think he's gonna eat her, huh?" It was the wolf who asked, knowing the ice prince's enormity of hatred towards humans.

"Shut up, wolf. Sesshomaru doesn't eat girls, just like humans don't eat ants." Inuyasha moved on, "Now go and wash up 'cause you stink!"

* * *

At the first glance of white hair poking her face, which was looking down, Rin thought it was Inuyasha that was checking her out, but this guy has feet two sizes bigger, plus Inuyasha will never wear expensive Italian leather shoes like the ones she's gawking at.

He spoke_. And- and his voice,_ it's not a deep, baritone one that gave her goosebumps and comfort at the same time. _Then who is…?_

Her face rose up to meet his piercing gaze, his softened eyes seemed as if it were inquiring if she was alright. He was even more handsome than the last time she saw him. _Was that even possible?_ There were nights where she would dream about him, his pale complexion, his silvery-white hair and the two pools of yellow gold which were watching her every expression directly. Who wouldn't be attracted to someone as gorgeous as he? Words would not even do justice, even her dirt-stained face did nothing to hide a blush slowly creeping on her face. _And he saved me._ For a minute of ogling the handsome demon, she forgot how haggard she looked like. Then she remembered.

This was definitely not her idea of their second meeting.

During the fire, when the door refused her of leaving the area, she texted Ayame for a little help. After a minute inside, she heard a loud explosion and soon the fire spreaded. She did not know how to escape, the door was too strong for her to push, and there were no windows to escape from. As soon as smoke filled the air, she grabbed the bidet spray and started to wet her body and her scarf out of panic. Who knew they would meet at a time like this?

_No one knew,_ she stopped blaming herself now, eyes dipping over her feet. To her surprise, the beautiful demon knelt in front of her, his fingers run through the wet gray scarf hanging loosely around her neck, exposing a pale throat beneath it. Sesshomaru drew a breath, her unique flowery fragrance still lingered even if it's mixed with smoke. His left arm rummaged inside his pocket, only to produce a white handkerchief, while his right arm carefully took off the scarf, his eyes never leaving her face. Rin shyly helped him by sweeping her hair to the side.

He gave her the handkerchief he was holding, wordlessly telling her to wipe the dirt off her face. A small "thank you" was produced, Sesshomaru's face was cautious of her every move, memorizing every detail. The human girl looked like a delicate rose which could be easily plucked out from a garden. So feeble, so weak, defenseless. His fingers drifted on the right side of her porcelain cheek, where a pinch of wet chestnut brown hair were violently rioting against, then straightened it to his liking. Soon enough, the same fingers cupped her cheek. The brown-eyed girl held her breath for a while as his hand made contact with her supple skin.

"You're alright now." Rin did not know if it was a question or a statement, or was he talking to himself? Then came out a beautiful smile, just like the one she gave him the first time they met, which spread across her face. "Yes, I am." They gazed upon each other's faces for a little while more, brown ones melting into ember eyes. He could hear Rin's rapid heartbeat as his eyes tried to search deep into her soul, and saw only good out of it. Her presence near him was soothing enough, as was the case for her; she found comfort in his. Feelings of peace and contentment and something they did not understand were shared during the silent exchange of stares, both wishing for it never to end…but…

He stood up suddenly, aware of the upcoming noises from the girls as they have finished finding her dry clothes. The demon left his handkerchief onto her palms and turned away, even if he hated it. _She needs space,_ Sesshomaru said to himself, although this time, he promised that it wouldn't take another month _to see her again._

"Hey Rin, c'mon let's get you out of your wet uniform…"

"Yeah, you look like a drowned rat…"

"What the heck were you thinking Rin... (more babbling with apologies from Ayame)"

Kagome, Ayame, and Sango talked a lot, but not a word registered in her mind since it was preoccupied by the handsome silver-headed prince who showed kindness to her a moment ago_. He even left me his hanky, which smelled of winter, pine trees and rainforest._ Should I keep it or return it to him?

_Will I even see you again?_

While in a daze, debating with her own subconscious, something Ayame was shoving in her face broke her thoughts.

"Your bag Lady Rin." Ayame told her with a wide grin on her face.

Rin squealed in delight. Her purse! Everything was there, the cards, id's, books, everything. She thanked Ayame, the three of them for all the effort. _But hold on a second…_

"So how come you managed to snatch my bag and forgot about me?" The four girls laughed altogether, "Sorry, your bag was so cute it would be a shame to see it burn…"

After all what happened today, Rin was lucky be be alive… and…

Her head darted in the direction where she and Sesshomaru spent a few minutes together.

_I will see you again. I'm positive._

* * *

Monday, Homeroom (Junior 2 class)

A message splayed across the whiteboard was written by their Science Lab professor.

"To students of Junior-2 class, please be informed that due to the unfortunate accident which took place last Friday on Science Laboratory 2, your class will be temporarily sharing Science Laboratory 1 handled by Akiyama Suikotsu with Junior-1 class _every Fridays, from 1:30pm to 3:30 pm."_

_See you on Friday then._

* * *

Monday, Homeroom (Junior 1 class)

"To students of Junior-1 class, please be informed that due to the unfortunate accident which took place last Friday on Science Laboratory 2, your class will be temporarily sharing Science Laboratory 1 handled by Akiyama Suikotsu with Junior-2 class _every Fridays, from 1:30pm to 3:30 pm."_

_I look forward to it, Rin._

* * *

**Fridays will start next week! I'm so excited, there are no other words for it. Oh for those of you who wants to have an idea what I imagine Souta and Rin sound like, feel free to view this cover of the "Itoshisugite" song on YouTube. watch?v=suIwWlyeEC4 or search the keywords "_goosehouse KG and Tiara_"**

**Please don't forget to REVIEW, I believe every writer is a sucker for reviews, so please do. Your comments inspire me a lot on my writing.**

**Sorry again for wrong grammatical, spelling, word usage in this chapter I might have overlooked in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading. **


	4. Chapter 4: The First Friday

**Twenty-two Fridays Chapter 4**

**DISCLAIMER: The Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Sesshomaru and Rin belong to each other.**

**A/N: Again, thank you for your kind thoughts about Rin, of course I'm not going to let anything bad happen to her, because I know you will murder me if I did! LOL, anyways, it's been three chapters already, and the twenty-two Fridays will start here, I hope you enjoy reading.**

**To anyone who has read my work from the first chapter up to the third one, I'd like to inform you this is going to be a story wherein our two main charcaters are going to fall in love _slowly._ There will be no kissing/smut anytime soon, but hey, expect lots of fluff in the next few chapters.**

**Please accept my sincere apologies for this late update, there were things that kept me busy this week.**

**Special thanks to: Ern Estine 13624, Karrat, Shessyeah, fabi16lachikita, jj, L.M.T.O.P, Andreatc, Janestone and four other unnamed guests for taking the time to drop heartwarming reviews on my three previous chapters, they encourage me to do better every week. Hope I didn't miss out anyone.**

**Pardon me for any spelling, grammatical, word usage, and copy/pasting mistakes. Sometimes my laptop has its own mind, deleting phrases without me knowing.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: The First Friday**

"Good girl Rin, you're so going to look horrible later." Dark circles making her eyes a bit more hollow than usual were the ones who greeted her as she stared on the reflection of the mirror. She tried to _sleep early_ in an attempt to get _"beauty rest", _but instead of that, all she got was a _"rest in peace"_ look.

Courtesy of thinking about the inutaiyoukai she'll be classmates with, in less than ten minutes.

"Why am I feeling so nervous?"

_Repeat. All you have to do is say hello, return the hanky, say your thanks, get back to your seat and move on from that pathetic little crush you're feeling._ "Get a grip, Rin, Lab starts in five minutes."

Grabbing her purse, two books and a notepad, two small feet cruised towards the opposite building along with her classmates. She eyed those group of girls in the front, remembering last Monday. The females went hysterical at their former sensei's handwritten message, all sixteen of them. Rin and Ayame were the happiest of course, to get together with Kagome and Sango, although the green-eyed girl was slightly averted by the fact that the dreaded hailstorm called Kouga will be there as well.

The girl with long raven hair though, was still in denial on the idea of becoming infatuated with the elder Takahashi. Everything is happening so fast like the gravitational speed. One month ago he was only in a magazine, the day after that was when they first saw each other, and last Friday they met again. Now she was to see him every Friday, _it seemed like everything was being set up._

Annoying voices broke Rin back to her own senses, her human ears picking up gossips from a slight gap. She thought secretly, yes, sharing two hours with their respective crushes were too good to be true. The handsomest and the smartest males all belong to Junior-1, but they better not give themselves away like that, it's…

The group was a short turn away from Science Lab 1's door, they could already hear muffled voices from inside the room.

…_irritating._

* * *

_Disgusting._

Those boisterous voices undoubtedly come from amorous wenches, the type who would normally throw themselves at his feet. At least in his class, women were quite tolerable with no one to bother him. This time, he wasn't sure.

However, he hopes young lady he was waiting for would be surely worth the eardrum discomfort.

The accompanying section entered one by one with a hint of coyness, some who knew old friends and classmates muttered their hellos. Sango and Kagome practically kicked out the guys in between them to save seats for both Ayame and Rin. The latter came in last, with Ayame, who shamelessly waved a huge_ HI _to her two besties.

The demon lord watch Rin take a seat, smelling _fatigue_ all over her body. It was disturbing. _Did she not get enough sleep last night?_ Meanwhile his eyes focused on the four girls in the middle, taking note of who she was closest friends with. Still, she looked pretty well, except for those dark circle surrounding her beautiful brown eyes. _Much, much better than the last time he has seen her._

"Yaaaay! We're finally together at last!" the demoness hoorayed as she sat down beside Sango.

"Damn girl, you sound louder than the _fire alarm_ last Friday!" it came from Kouga.

"You have an idea which_ sound_ I love? It's the sound of you_, shutting_ the hell up!" The two wolf youkais continued to berate each other for a few more minutes.

"Are they always like that?" Rin asked Kagome who is currently reading notes for an upcoming quiz.

"Huh? You mean Kouga and Ayame? Well, it's worse, actually."

"But you know who's worse? Inuyasha and Kagome!" Sango added, "that's because he's a prick!"

Rin laughed a little uncomfortably at that, "Interesting.", carefully switching the topic to how far they are in the lessons. She glanced at Kagome's notebook and was_ disheartened_ by how advanced they already were. _Cream of the crop, indeed._ Then by all means, she will have to do a lot of advanced reading and maybe a bit of tutoring.

The class teacher, _Akiyama Suikotsu_ came in and decided to spend the next hour getting to know the class. The students had to state their _names and expectations,_ Rin watching out for those people who were _remarkable._ For example, _Rioka Kanda_ of KTM12, who performed a thirty second acapella for the whole bunch. Kagome of course, she is Secretary and the best multi-tasker in class. Miroku Shibata, who seemed to be very intellectual especially in Biology, wanted to become a doctor. Sango was the school's best volleyball player, Kikyo Fujihara was the wisest and the smartest female in the school, Kouga Yamasaki was the fastest, and the two brothers of course…

Inuyasha, excels in being stubborn, but Kagome helps him to become a better person now. Sesshomaru, of course, excels in _everything_ he does. Rin watched with _admiration_ as he stood in front, speaking with such unquestionable authority.

She has heard of Sesshomaru's reputation of being _ruthless_ in his leadership, everyone feared him, students always clear out of the way whenever they hear the all-too-familiar sound of _his footsteps_. The number of late juniors almost _depleted t_he moment he instructed that they shall have to provide _community service_ on the Sunday to come. Young human teens and other demons who study high school would rather die than having taken their only free day from them.

_No bad deed goes unpunished_, as they say. Troublesome students were suspended, members of gangs eventually expelled from the institution.

In his speech, he made it very clear that no idiot will be allowed inside the lab, since he heard reports that _two morons_ from Junior-2 who excitedly mixed burning chemicals had almost gotten their one of their classmates killed. More other rules and regulations had followed.

Deep down inside, Rin knew he had good reasons for it.

It was junior class 2's turn. Ayame was first, always the confident one. Shippo did, and the twins Ginta and Hakkaku who couldn't look directly into the inutaiyoukai's eyes.

It was Rin's turn in front, the other sixty people eyed her and her heart started to beat in a more frantic pace, especially while Sesshomaru eyes inspected her. She breathed in and said,

"Hello, I'm Rin Ishikawa, 16 and uhm…I'm the new girl. " _what was I supposed to say again?_ "My expectation in this class is that first and foremost, ehh… I hope that the restroom door lock in there isn't broken 'cause I personally don't want to be almost roasted alive again, if ever."

A fit of giggles from the bunch was earned from the statement, Sesshomaru's face, although glinted with a tiny hint of amusement, swore to himself that it never happens again.

Hearing her talk was not only a delight to hear, but it somewhat soothes something inside his soul. He could listen to her forever, if it were even possible. His eyes glanced to her chest, noticing the white identification card he would have to take a look at later.

"Second and lastly, I hope being with you guys will help me be motivated to study better because I'm pretty certain you'll be a good influence to us. Maybe at the end of the line, all of us will even be friends as well. That's it, thank you."

Rin was about to sit down when Suikotsu-sensei asked her something.

"Tell us, how did you manage to survive the smoke?" The whole class were also curious.

In truth, she did not want to elaborate in detail how her mother trained her breathing exercises by submerging her deep into the water since she was five. She still does it every opportunity she has, and growing up near the beach, she can swim comfortably underwater within three minutes without breathing, four minutes maximum. She did, anyway. What she didn't tell them, it was not only for swimming purposes.

Soon enough, the lessons started. Suikotsu-sensei made adjustments for the second class, their topics went back to what they have discussed a week ago. When students were asked to answer questions, only ones from the first class were able to respond correctly.

_Wow, they're really good._ Rin thought, especially _her Sesshomaru_ who never fails to impress. Kikyo was already scowling, showing the silent rivalry for the first honor title. Everyone is so smart, students from j-2 felt so out of place.

She took notice of the white cotton fabric tucked in her pouch. _I'll give this to him after the discussion._

* * *

3:30 p.m. came by as she saw Sesshomaru stand up, probably having to go to student council's office. Rin gathered all the courage she had, excusing herself from her friends for a few measly minutes. Running a few meters away from the lab, she approaches Sesshomaru, who was very well aware of the of the brown-eyed beauty's attempt to catch up with him.

"Takahashi-senpai!" Rin stood a foot away from him and looked up at the towering handsome demon in front of her. _He must be at least 14 inches taller than me._

Sesshomaru's face pored over hers, observing how her cheeks were flushed with pink from running. _Takahashi-senpai_ was what the ningen girl called him, which was the proper way, but surprisingly sounded offending to him.

"What is it?" the dashing inuyoukai asked her.

The answer he got was a clean, white handkerchief that he lent her last Friday. She apologized while explaining, "Sorry I couldn't return this earlier." Rin smiled sweetly up at him, "I hope you didn't mind."

"Hn." Sesshomaru simply nodded. There was no need for her to return it at all, yet he took the white fabric from her small palms, if it were from others he would just tell them to throw it away. Actually, he would not even think of lending any of his possessions to anyone – a simple handkerchief included- even if that person was pitifully dumped with cow's goo. _Only to her._

The pair briefly touched each other's fingers, Rin gasping a bit from the contact. He knew at that time that he was given the chance on how warm and soft her hands felt like, as opposed to his calloused ones. He looks so unworldly, his mother must be a goddess.

"Thank you, again." Her face was still red from the touch from earlier, he took in her form again from head to toe, her wavy brown tresses and her delicately-shaped nose. The gray scarf around her neck didn't go unnoticed, wondering why she always wore it. Her new uniform fitted every curve the petite body she has, pinkish-white skin showing off a part of her thighs and legs, which he took his sight away from easily without giving any impression. That reminded him,

"Don't go running along the hallways." His vision darted back to her chest where her I.D. lays.

_Ishikawa, Rin._

Her chest swelled as soon has he pulled her a bit closer and realized he was trying to read the glossy white card. They stayed in silence for a few seconds when somebody just had to ruin it all.

"HEY RIN WHAT'S THAT BASTARD DOING TO YOU?!" It was the woman who held Inuyasha on a tight leash, whose name he did not bother to remember. Infuriated, he left without informing the girl still startled by Kagome's sudden appearance.

"What do you mean? We were just talking a while ago. Right? …Takahashi-senpai?" She turned around to see nothing but a long corridor ahead of them.

"Talking? Are you crazy? Listen to me, Sesshomaru hates humans. Let me spell it for you, H-A-T-E-S!"

"Hate? Do you really believe that?" It sounded absurd.

"Mr. Ice Prince's not that bad at all… he helped save Rin!" Sango put her right arm in Rin's shoulder.

"Well it's his duty to do it, but that doesn't mean he's sincere! Look Rin, I know he saved you, he's extremely attractive but he's not friendly at all." the class secretary forbade her like an eight-year old being taught not to eat too much candies.

The girl did not understand why. She didn't mean to disappoint her friend but she was done with them being too judgmental. A person may be cruel and scary at times but this demon, had shown nothing but compassion to her. He doesn't even sound like someone who would act violently without any acceptable reason, unlike the drunk, human truck driver who took almost everything away in an instant. Maybe he hates some humans, but…

"If he hates me, then he would not have saved me, nor let me dry myself with his hanky, and accept it after I have wiped my own human stench with it."

That sole sentence stopped them from ranting even more, leaving a shocked expression in her friend's faces.

EEEEEHHH?!

Kagome was amazed. "Sesshomaru did that?" Nobody else- not even Inuyasha can borrow anything from the inuyoukai. There was one time where Inuyasha asked him for an extra pen, and all he has gotten was "piss off" – in his own viciously "polite" manner, of course. The bottom line is, when you look at how handsome the elder Takahashi is, that is how terrible his attitude gets. At least Inuyasha only stubborn, but definitely not that cruel. He's never liked humans for as long as anyone could remember, speaking to them was a lowly thing for him to do- except when giving very few orders to the student council.

Rin's case was different though, by the time the three of them caught the two conversing, in a calm manner, she didn't seem to be afraid of Sesshomaru. In return, he did not seem irked by her presence either. _That was a first._ The three of them were at a loss of words.

The doe-eyed girl nodded quickly, trying to convince her friends that the taiyoukai was not threatening her in any way.

"Sorry, Rin, we didn't know you two were close already" Ayame winks at her, with a hidden meaning behind it.

"We're not close, I was just thanking him."

"Eeek! Please don't tell me you have a crush on him! Or do you?" Sango probed further. _Oh God._

"Uhhhm…" Rin put her hands behind her back, how did they figure out so early? Was she to tell them? She looked down at her own feet, trying to avoid curious faces until she answered… "No, but…" In a flash, she cautioned herself not to mention anything, any demon would be nearby and they might hear!

_Run, Rin, run!_

"Hey, Kagome, isn't it your mom's birthday today?" She reminded her, hoping for the topic to shift already. Their meddling with her interests with the school president was becoming uncomfortable, and school wasn't really the best place to talk.

"Oh right!" We're going to skip practice today, so I'll see you guys at seven!"

* * *

Kagome's family took the girls out for free dinner at a nice buffet restaurant and at a karaoke bar which her mom and grandpa enjoyed immensely. Rin was grateful for having close friends who invites her to events, thus preventing being home-alone. The food was great and everyone was contagiously happy, Ayame chimed in on jokes, and Sango was lucky enough to be let out of the house during a Friday night.

Of course there was Souta who has abused the microphone in a wonderful way, gesturing Rin for a song.

"C'mon Rin, get your lazy pipes over here and sing!"

"I don't have lazy pipes, more like shy ones!" Rin whispered in his ears.

"Look at the two of them, getting cozy already…" It was Kagome's mom, Akiko who thought they would make a great pair. Rin is pretty and kind, and they would make such cute babies together…

"Hey mom, cut it out! It's not like that!" Souta interrupted her thoughts, for he already knew what was going on her mind. He pulled Rin in front of the crowd as he handed her another microphone, and announced that a friend of his with an astounding voice will be singing with him tonight.

Kagome, Ayame and Sango were confused, obviously not knowing their friend even had musical background. Could she play or sing? That, they were about to find out.

"This is so embarrassing, Souta. I feel so nervous."

"Don't be, if there are people who should feel ashamed, it should be them. You're so much more than you think, you have talent, and your voice is absolutely stunning. Now I need you to stop being shy and let's sing, uhhh… this!

He clicked four buttons effortlessly on the microphone, and soon the box played the famous song "I love you" by Rake, for an opening number. Their hearts lose themselves in the upbeat music, causing heads to swing side to side.

The first part was first sang by Souta, and then as they both got into the chorus, the audiences were astonished by the chemistry of the two. The three girls jaw's literally dropped to the ground as they watched their new friend sing. It was out in the open now why she hated volleyball, why she had breathing exercises, she was destined for something else. This was her hidden talent, and wow.

All of them agreed how her voice outranked the recent lead vocalist Tsubaki, whose was also good in her own way. But hearing the two of them…

It's as if they were soulmates.

Every note was perfectly hit, their blending was so beautiful that words wouldn't do it justice. The rhythm makes one want to fall in love. As the song ended, it detonated into cheers and shouts for more.

Rin was feeling ecstatic being able to sing in front of her friends, her first singing experience at home, all thanks to the guy beside her. "I knew you'd do a great job." She thanked the crowd, saw Kagome and her family, Sango and Ayame cheering for her on top of their tables.

"No, we did. Thank you." Rin replied with her a honeyed smile plastered on her face.

"Anytime. Ready for another one?"

Two more songs passed, and the night ended more ear-shattering claps, with the three girls complimenting her voice, Souta was confused on how Rin was being secretive of her skills. Clearly, her sister doesn't know anything about last Friday. Souta told them what happened on the music room before the unfortunate school fire tore down Lab 2.

"You should have told us! Now I feel so jealous!" Ayame inserted herself, extremely proud of her human friend.

"I really hate you right now! I wish I had your voice, too! Maybe Inuyasha will like me better!"

"That's ridiculous Kagome, I love your infamous screechy voice!" she encouraged her friend, the last thing Rin would want is for a friend to feel insecure. "I'm pretty sure Inuyasha appreciates it!"

"I hope so, too. Oh, and I'm sorry about a while ago about Sesshomaru, what I said was harsh."

"Honestly, don't worry about it." A reassuring smile came from her lips, "Happy birthday to your mom." She gave Kagome a huge hug after that, and also her mom. The birthday celebrant thanked the girls for making her 43rd celebration most memorable, and escorted them home at nine.

* * *

**Next Friday**

She wanted to do nothing but to sleep all day. The assignments and projects get harder and harder each day, with no Auntie Kaede to give her a hand. It was frustrating, but so far she has managed to do them diligently. The sun's rays permeating her curtains served as wake-up call for her, but her body begged to slump back in bed.

Last night was terrible. She felt someone's foot on her roof, uncertain if the purpose was to steal or attack her. She turned all the lights on to scare off the intruder, the footsteps had already stopped but she decided to stay up until four a.m. Who knew if the intruder would be back?

She switched the TV on, playing a video of a family at home while the mother was cooking vegetables – her mom specifically. It was a routine, to play their family memories on TV to make it look like she had someone with her at home. It went on until she slept peacefully.

Timid light-brown eyes swiveled to a mobile phone to timecheck.

It was 8 a.m.

"NOOOOOOO!" Senses finally awaken at the thought of two words. _Community Service._

She took the coldest and fastest shower she has ever had in her entire life, hair soaking wet and uncombed. It was a good thing all her uniforms were already pressed two days ago, so it made the getting ready easier. Within fifteen minutes, she was out the door, running straight towards the train station, as if shooting an action episode in a "Taken" movie.

The wait for the passengers was so slow, it made her hand shake madly in impatience. She thought of Ayame and the Science Lab class. Maybe today they'll be able to conduct an experiment on how to transfer some demonic speed to humans; to never again be late at school.

_I swear, whoever made me stay awake until four a.m., he is going to get some._

Sesshomaru sits at his Math class, Bankotsu-sensei has been teaching them Geometry for a while now, but his thoughts were from last night.

After working on business-related paperwork, he manages to allot time for Rin at least three days a week, even if it's only past midnight, where she already slept. He would watch over her for a few hours beside a locked window, sleeping on her side, waiting for her to mumble out his name again.

He assumed they were good dreams, as it puts a faint smile across her face. Sometimes they were bad dreams, dreams where she uttered her mother's name, but that he did not know why. Was her family not with her in this house? It was confusing- he could not smell any human besides her in this house, yet he could hear her family talking. **(A/N: sounds creepy, I know but that's because of Rin's video playing every single day to fend off loneliness and so intruders won't suspect she's alone) **

He would have to find out later.

What was he waiting for? _This Sesshomaru waits for no one_. How did he end up to be like this?

After the first time he had heard her voice, she turned into someone who never stopped coursing through his mind with her smiles and her sweet innocent face. At first, he thought he had become delirious. Sesshomaru dare not bother his father about it, for he might perceive it as weakness. For hundreds of years he has been roaming around this planet, he never thought he would pay an attraction nor compassion compared to this to some other type of demoness, much less a human girl.

Demonesses who can rival any greek goddess' beauty, who would gladly surrender their bodies and souls to him, yet…

"_Thank you, again." She said while peeking up at him through thick, dark brown eyelashes._

It was the sound of scratchy feet which pulled him out of his daze. A little demon cat on Rin's roof was scratching its own ears violently, taps on the thin layer of shelter hitting it. He scoffed at the thought of waking Rin, he growled at the noisy sounds it made, then turned on his feet, grabbed it and flung it on another neighbor's roof.

Half a second later, he could Rin's grumpy whimpers, feel her rising out of the bed, switching lights on a frightened manner. Soon enough, the whole house is lit, realizing how his own footsteps betrayed him. _Curse all cats._

Several minutes later, voices that come from her family were heard by him, at least she was safe, but something was nagging at the back of his mind as he thought of it. _Was she safe?_

He stayed for another two more hours, it was already too late but the girl was still awake. The cat was to blame—not him. He only tried to eliminate the unpleasant noisy vermin who tried to wake her. For the second time, she was to attend a science class without having enough sleep, _but an idea struck him._

_If she were to be late tomorrow morning, then maybe…_

He saw her curl up in her bed at last, surrendering her body to the comfortable surface. She looked beautiful as always, and it was hard for him to let go of the peaceful sight laid in front of him.

"I will make you mine." He murmured, silently vanishing along the trees.

* * *

The day didn't turn out to be well. After all that running, chasing the train doors in perfect timing, Rin still arrived twenty minutes late. It was unforgivable.

"Caffeine, I need caffeine, Ayame." She was already desperate, her body is ready to hibernate anytime.

"Huh? Didn't your voice coach tell you not to have caffeine? It'll ruin your voice." Ayame replied as they strolled along the hallway, looking forward to see Kagome and Sango on their last class.

"That man always takes control of everything I do, telling me what not to eat and drink and everything. Do you know _he didn't allow_ me to join any music clubs here?" the sleepy sixteen years old's sentences and thoughts were quite incoherent already, she did not mean for the last statement to come out of her mouth.

"Really? OK wait, we'll talk about that later on."

Sesshomaru observe her slump lazily on her chair and take the next free two minutes to nap. This time, more stabs of guilt were inflicted to his conscience, if it were even existent. Classes started in about five minutes, the girl tried to fight off fatigue and stress from last night, but her droopy eyes gave up in the midst of the class.

"Rin wake up, the teacher's approaching you." Sango's fingers were gently tapping her, but it wasn't enough to wake her up.

"Miss Ishikawa, this is not a place for sleeping!" Suikotsu-sensei called upon her, eyes red and a bit blurry from taking a nap. She was not fully awake yet – that moment all she could think about was for everyone to disappear and let her sleep for a little while more.

"Gomenasai." Rin said in a very slurry manner with a flush of embarrassment.

The angry professor decided to make her stand up until the class ends, making her answer each of his questions about the types of chemical bonds. Some she knew- some she did not. He continued to reprimand her, accusing her for sleeping late in order to finish mediocre Japanese soap operas rather than studying his lessons.

Sesshomaru's pen broke into pieces in rage. Fists were clenched, teeth gritted on seeing the young lady being insulted in front of him. It was outrageous, one does not need to listen to his meaningless topics to become more intelligent when it only takes a half a day to read the school book's content. This fool thinks he is perfection- he decided that he show him one does not simply mess with him, that degrading this girl is just as bad as degrading him. That is why…

He sauntered out of the room and began to dial someone's number. They talked for a couple of minutes at the most. After the phone call, Suikotsu-sensei was fired.

The taiyoukai stayed outside the room for several minutes more, making sure that the vile professor was out of the school gates before he returned. The moment he came back inside, students were speculating why the professor suddenly stopped teaching, not knowing that it was their president who had him fired.

Despite all of the noise, he was rewarded with seeing Rin laying her head down in the desk again, silently breathing in and out. She deserved all the sleep she could get, one not achieved because of that cat- and a certain dog, too. He looked around the class, in which he observed was too noisy already.

"Silence."

It was a quick order, not a plea. Students shut their mouths in a blink of an eye, which a half-awake Rin was grateful for.

* * *

Thirty minutes into her nap, she was awakened by the noises of someone familiar to her. Grinning faces, faint laughter from the background…

"Rin, wake up, Souta's here!" Ayame was tapping her elbow, "KTM-12" has an announcement to make! Get up!"

"Uuummff…" Her uncombed dark brown locks tumbled down her back in a messy manner, cheeks pink from all the pressure her arms had given out. As she straightened out her hair, a male greeted her specially from waking up.

"Sleeping beauty has finally risen! claps Hi there, Rin!" Souta waved at her.

Rin reciprocated through a voiceless hello, who is still struggling to speak. The three girls went on teasing the two of them, smitten by the thought of a new love team. Other girls chimed in too, and some of the guys scowled at the thought of losing a chance with the new girl to Souta Higurashi.

Such the Ice Prince at the back, and now a part of his desk is now cracked as well. _Are they together?_ It seemed to him that they were really close, and the way Rin smiled at him…

_Is this what jealousy feels like?_

It has only been a few weeks and this young ningen has already been giving him emotions he has never experienced before. He could not bear the thought of losing her to another. What made it worse is that they would look perfect together. A human male together with his Rin…

_Mine._

"Anyway we, the KTM-12 have an important announcement to make." Souta smiles once more then proceeds. "With the unexpected loss of our former lead female vocalist, Tsubaki due to her transferring of schools, KTM-12 are now looking for a lead female singer who would gladly share her talent with us. , if you think you've got what it takes to be one of us, please feel free to audition, it will start next Thursday at the Music department, bottom floor adjacent to the school canteen. Thank you and good luck!" Souta gave her a wink, knowing what it already means, but instead gave one of her sad smiles.

_How cruel my fate is,_ she thought. Excitement, adrenalin rush and euphoria was what she is supposed to feel, as her long-awaited opportunity sprouted out like some sort of a miracle, yet, all she feels now is disappointment.

After that long distance phone which purpose was to ask her voice coach permission to sing in public through KTM-12, all she got was a hard _no._ A flat, hard no.

"_You're too good to sing for such a lame band."_

"_Do not waste that precious voice of yours when we can always join the Voice Olympics once you're ready"_

It would have been great to audition, at least.

She excused herself to the bathroom to let out a few minutes' worth of tears.

"This day sucks." She spat bitterly, the back of her hand rashly wiping the small trail of tearfall on both sides of her cheeks. First staying up late which resulted to coming late in school, which resulted on getting caught sleeping and a whole lot of scolding and degrading. But that last bit was the worst of all.

Almost failing to mention the second worst part, community service on a Sunday. Today all she wanted to do is to go home and get plenty of sleep.

* * *

Fifty yards away, he could smell Rin's tears. He instantly regretted waking her up so early last night, but a huge part of him told him we was not the one to blame.

_I will look for that vile creature, I will find it, then kill it._

Sesshomaru decided to give her some space and left the lab as soon as he could, in an attempt to push aside his guilt slowly eating him up. The last thing he saw was Rin grabbing her things, eyes all puffy and swollen from crying.

_When I finally have you alone on Sunday, will all the tears be worth it?_

* * *

**A/N: Yes, it's all about Sesshy and Rin in the next chapter. What happens at the community service on a Sunday? I'm quite excited for it, too but I will not be updating in a little while because this upcoming weeks will be a very busy one, but I hope you stay tuned to the next chapter, it's called "Stuck With You."**

**As you can see, their relationship as of current is one of that unexplained attraction to each other, which will not go away of course, but they will get past the "physical attraction" stage (a bit, not entirely) and whatever they have will be injected a bit of friendship and understanding, then deeper and deeper… I hope you guys understand my slow pace.**

**Thanks for the additional reviews, favorites and follows last chapter. I'm glad I am able to bring entertainment with you through fanfiction.**

**Please don't forget to REVIEW. Thank you guys!**


	5. Chapter 5: Stuck With You

**Twenty-two Fridays Chapter 5**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**A/N: December is such a busy month, there were a lot of projects I had to work on and I had to give myself a few days of rest, too. I apologize for the long wait.**

**You guys have no idea how the reviews/follows/favorites from the past chapters (especially the last one) totally uplifted my spirits. Please accept my extra-huge gratitude.**

**Sorry if this chapter took too long to write. As much as I'd like to update faster there are a lot of times that I couldn't make out what I wanted to say in a more artistic manner. Writing is a struggle for me, but the story is already made out inside my mind. But worry not I promised myself to keep on continuing until this fic is finished.**

**This chapter does include Sess and Rin together but it's more of a filler chapter *small things always make up the big things*. Without further ado, here goes chapter five. Please enjoy.**

**Warning: May be OOC.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Stuck With You**

_Rin's Vocabulary:_

_Sunday- (n.) a day which is usually spent on stress-free related activities such as watching movies, walking on the beach, sipping a warm nice cup of chamomile tea, singing or shopping with friends._

If so, then what the hell was she doing on a place this?

In front of her was the school façade in its old pale-gray glory, gigantic trees guarding its peacefulness in a perfect Sunday morning. Staff were absent except for a few guards on patrol, but she was relieved with the sight of a group of 14-16 students from different levels. _So I'm not the only one. Good._

After sharing small talk with them, she sat on a bench under a pine tree, snatched her cellphone to check if they were messages. There was one from her dear friend Ayame.

"_Hey, you're not gonna go shopping with us? I can murder Sesshomaru today for you if you like, his father can revive him with Tenseiga anyway. #demonhistoryremember?"_

Rin covered her mouth to contain her impending laughter as her right hand were pressing buttons to reply.

"_Ayame, he could kill you as fast as you say the word baka. Bakabakabakabaka."_

Of course Sesshomaru won't be here, he's safely cocooned in the warmth of their multi-million dollar home, isn't he? Such a terrible fate. Her friends would enjoy roaming around shiny boutiques, while she would wallow in her own self-pity, holding a broomstick, or cleaning toilets? Rin hoped not.

She put on her headphones, listening to "Summer Song" by Yui. Distracted by the music, she wasn't aware that the school van arrived, already being hopped in by students_. A van? How could twenty people fit?_ In the end, she along with three students were left to take the train instead. _This day could not get even worse_.

As they were about to leave, a gorgeous silver Porsche 911 turbo pulled up in front of them, causing the three other students to run for their lives. They knew exactly _who _was driving, it would be wise to flee.

Rin halted to see who made them run away, was it another professor? She didn't know but the car itself looked intriguing enough. Out came of the_ silver_ car was a _silver_ head too.

_Sesshomaru._

The taiyoukai was dressed in a fitted, dirty white knitted sweater which showed off his lean but muscular upper body and charcoal-colored jeans for his impossibly long legs. He was truly beyond _beautiful. _

_What's he doing here? _

Rin watched the demon walk sinuously towards her, his stoic expression on display as always. She clutched the handles of her small tote bag while panting in delight. _You look so handsome today, while I…_

_I'm just the girl with the drab white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers._

The Ice Prince's sight hastened to the human girl who has always fascinated him, not missing the sad smile in her face. Was it because of him? This was not the way he expected the morning to turn out. Still, she gave him an energetic wave as he approached her.

"Good morning, Takahashi-sama." Rin bowed politely, trying to conceal any blush that was to color her cheeks. It was ridiculous to him, as if any emotion would ever escape from his prying eyes. She was very easy to read, although at this point he was still reading her from the covers. It would change today.

He just merely stared at her, no words coming out from his pale lips. He took her in from head to toe, clothed by a simple white shirt and pale blue jeans, brown hair knotted into a messy bun. Her skin looked radiant and healthier from getting ample sleep these past few nights, he knew because of the continued visits during ungodly hours.

He was at it again, eyeing her until she melted. Was there dirt in her face? To stop the awkwardness, it was her who stirred up a conversation.

"Do you have business to attend to at school?" she asked smiling softly. Her head tilted upwards to meet his. The inutaiyoukai's height made him all the more intimidating to look at.

"Yes." There were files he had to pull out from the school's office as per Inu No Taisho's request before escorting her to the service, but of course Rin didn't know yet. He knew what had transpired a while ago, the school van leaving too early and Rin being left behind, it all was according to his plans.

"Well, last Friday I came late to school so I guess I'm doomed to spend a precious Sunday on community service." She continued while laughing anxiously, "and unfortunately the school van has left, so I will have to go, Takahashi-senpai, I'll see you on Friday." He nodded quietly in response.

_Not the talkative type, eh?_ Rin flashed him a small smile before walking away in frustration. What perfect timing, he was there yet she could not spend time with him. _Worst day ever._

Sesshomaru _wondered_, will he be fast enough to retrieve the files from endless bundles of paper and catch up to her? He can hear the train speeding fast towards the nearest station, in approximately eight minutes. In five minutes, Rin shall be there. _Five minutes._ At thought of it, he quickly disappeared outside the gates and ran to the office in an unworldly pace. He searched for the files as fast as he could which only took a minute, but he doubted that they would make it to his Chichi-ue in time. He thought of the half-breed, but later scolded himself to even think that he would ever need his help.

Sesshomaru dialed a number on his phone, telling someone that the files would be provided later.

* * *

Three minutes into walking, Rin was heading into the station when she actually realized something. She did not know where to go. It was stupid, the four of them were not able to ask for the place's address from the school van driver. _What now, Rin?_

She stopped at a corner trying to figure out what to do. Everything was so pointless. That particular Friday morning has caused her so much trouble already, even extending until Sunday. At the time, Rin was becoming hopeless, with no back-up plans, no one to ask…

Or she could ask Sesshomaru, shove her shyness up her nose won't she? Too bad she did not have his number. "I'm going to be late again." She sighed in defeat, and turned back towards the school.

As if by some miracle, the girl saw the silver Porsche drawing near. It stopped in front of her, a relieved expression was imminent upon seeing him. _Every cloud has a silver lining indeed,_ in the form of a silver car and silver hair. Rin dashed on the driver's side and delicately knocked on the tinted glass. The window rolled down in an instant.

"Hello, I was wondering if you know where the community service is to be held? The train is about to arrive but…" Sweat beads formed along the outline of her flushed face, eyes bright and lively.

_Did she plan to go all the way back just to ask me that?_ But remembering how he put her in this situation in the first place, he put the rude question aside. "I have forgotten to ask the address, I hope you don't mi—

"Get inside the car."

_Huh?_ Did she just hear it right? Blank and more confusion overrode her mind.

Sesshomaru assumed that she did not understand when he got up on his seat, motioning for Rin to move aside. Unexpectedly, he opened his passenger seat for her, golden orbs beckoning her to enter. Should she decline him?

"No, it's alright, I know you're busy right now, and it's so much faster if I take the train, so-

"It's too late." The last train on the way there was already honking for incoming passengers. _Damn his superb sense of hearing._

As soon as he closed the door for her, she asked shyly, "Are you sure this is okay? Won't I be bothering you?" No answer was given, his focus was now on the road ahead of them.

Rin sighed, "I'll take it as a no, then." After that, she vowed to shut up for the next thirty minutes.

Except she couldn't.

"Where are we going, Takahashi-senpai?" Curiosity has gotten the better of her within five minutes. The soft leather of the car seat which felt luxurious against her skin, did nothing to settle her nerves. Sesshomaru noticed her uneasiness, Rin has been behaving like a caged puppy ever since she sat down. Her large brown eyes roamed around the highway for landmarks. _Surely she does not think I want to kidnap her? The idea seems tempting though. _

He decided to answer her this time. "To an orphanage."

"Oh, I see. Is it situated far from here?" Rin had a bad feeling as they drove in the area, her mind seems to be too familiar with this route. She glanced at the small buildings along the outskirts of the city, feeling a sense of dejavu. "What's the name of the institution again?"

"It is called Ichinoseki Fujinoso."

She fell in a trance upon hearing the name, a series of bad memories slowly resurfacing. Vivid flashes of a maroon van escorting her to a place filled with children, human and demons alike. It would be fun, that's what they said. They told her to forget her family, that the place would be her home now. She did not want a new home, much less a family. _No…no…_

"You recognize the place?" His deep baritone voice broke her thoughts. She looked into his eyes and replied cheerfully.

"Yes I do, in fact I have been there before, but that was about ten years ago before I left Japan." She goes on, "I don't know how the place looks like now, or if my former playmates are still there, but I hope that they're all adopted by now." He did not ask why she spent a brief time there, so the family tragedy was never discussed, much to her relief.

About two kilometers away, a morning view of the beach was presented to them. It was a beautiful turquoise blue, with the rays of the sun glimmering on the horizon. Rin could not help but feel in awe of the water, if she only had a bathing suit then she would have frolicked in the pale sand right now, but it was not a good idea, _not if you're with..._ A red tint colored her cheeks when an unwelcome image of Sesshomaru clad only in black swimming trunks ran across her mind. _Innocent thoughts, Rin!_

"Isn't it beautiful?" Rin asked the taiyoukai whose concentration is still on the road. For a brief moment his ember depths darted on the beach, then to Rin, now only inches beside him. She was beaming, the sun's rays highlighting the ends of her brown hair, turning her eyes into a caramel color. _Beautiful. _

During the next half hour it was discovered that she talked too much. Too much, he could not believe that he would be bombarded by massive amounts of sentences with a girl as small as her. Surprisingly, he did not mind even though most of the time he was not listening. Her voice was in fact, very pleasant to hear, talking alone already made good music for his ultra-sensitive ears.

Her_ monologue_ stopped when she did not hear a single response.

"You never talk too much, don't you?"

"I only talk when it is necessary." Which was true.

"That's great to hear."

A single eyebrow raised in response as if waiting for an explanation. His family _did_ mind how he was a complete snob, some people who did not know him even declared him as mute. _But her…_

"I think that it's better to say nothing especially if what you have to say is not good, right? I'd rather be with a person who doesn't like to talk than someone who only knows nonsense. Plus if you paired me with someone as chatty as I am, then we'll clash like two jets colliding."

Hn." Came out the usual stoic reply by the demon lord. Rin missed the glint of amusement in his eyes as she explained. She was a lot wiser than he thought. Why was she placed in Junior-2 instead of Inuyasha? The wolf?

"Sorry if I am too loquacious, I happen to get nervous when I'm not talking." She silently admitted, his ears attuned to her apology. She continued with her stories, humming tunes for the next several minutes until Sesshomaru finally parked his car in a small curb.

He unbuckled his seat belt, went out of the car and she was about to do the same thing, too. However, her belt won't cooperate. The passenger door was opened when Sesshomaru saw her trying hard to unclasp it. It was a humorous sight, like a mouse setting itself free from a trap. He leaned in and released the belt, bearing in mind how close his head was to hers. Her flowery smell mixed with vanilla and shampoo enveloped his nostrils entirely, while her heart pounded faster due to the closeness. If she were in a youkai in any way, she would have heard the organ in his chest dance into a more frantic pace.

The thick, intense atmosphere still lingered even after the belt was unhooked, their foreheads almost touching each other. Both of them started to pant heavily, his red-tinted eyes were on hers, and the clawed hands that worked on the belt were now on her narrow waist.

Soon enough, pale lips crashed down on her own pink ones. The kiss was a tamed one, both sides simply feeling how incredibly soft their mouth felt against each other. Sparks and butterflies flew from her chest, feelings of happiness and contentment radiating all throughout her body. All other thoughts were pushed out of her mind, what only mattered right now was that he was here with her. At the time, he was all she can see, all that she needs and all she can feel-

"Rin." It was his voice again which brought her back from her sudden _daydreaming_ in front of him. Her brain stops working whenever she does that. _Oh heavens, did I just gape at him the whole time he unfastened my belt? Now he must think that I'm dumb._

"Yes?" It occurred to her that he called her by her first name, something that should be only be done by close friends_. _

"Let's go." He replied emotionlessly, still pondering on why she suddenly fell into a daze. Red painted across her face, Sesshomaru only hoped that the thought involved him. Rin apologized for the delay, the small _smirk_ on the demon prince's lips hidden because his back was turned to her.

* * *

In front of them was an old brick building, with massive red wrought iron gates with is written with "Ichinoseki Fujinoso" on it. The place spoke of tranquility, but what she felt was unsettling as soon as they walked past the gates. She reminisced those moments, walking here for the very first time, spending two weeks waiting for Aunt Kaede. Somehow, she no longer felt scared, maybe it's because of the person beside her.

"Thank you so much for the ride, will you be heading back now?" Only silence followed so Rin took it as a _yes_, but the taiyoukai had other plans in mind. He intended keep an eye on her the whole day, although this was not the best place to do so.

"I have come to inspect the students as well, to see if they are doing their tasks properly." Sesshomaru lied.

"Really? I mean, that's… cool." She bowed her head down to hide her wide grin, knowing that she's going to see him the whole day. Who knew community service would be this enjoyable? The blush on her face did not go unseen.

She saw the crowd back from the school already cleaning the orphanage's front yard. "Alright then, I gotta go now, Takahashi-senpai. See you later!" She waved at him, still smiling as she approached the instructor. The demon lord gave a _signal_ to the _old lady_ in her sixties as the girl ran up to meet the other pupils. _I will see you later,_ he thought.

She was confused. Instead of sweeping the yard, the old lady who is named Orasue, led her into another part of the orphanage where children are impatiently waiting. Entering a cream-colored room, she was met with kids ages 3 to 9. Most of them were human and full-fledged demon children, but she could easily spot a half-breed at the back of the room, who looks about 7-8 years old.

"How cute!" Rin said in adoration. She wanted to pinch their smooth, cherub cheeks one by one. Orasue nodded in agreement, giving off a _fake_ smile when she replied.

"I wait for the day that they will all be in happy families later on, but only time can tell. They shall be staying here in the meantime, and you...my dear Rin will teach them something today."

"What shall I teach them?"

"Anything, most of the students who come here teach them music, sometimes they teach English, it's up to you, child." Orasue then turned to the bunch of kids, who were still busy talking to each other. The old lady cleared her throat and introduced Rin. The kids ceased whatever they were doing altogether and listened.

"Children, this is Ms. Ishikawa, she will be your teacher for today's activity. Be it known that your behavior shall be evaluated one by one, those who get bad remarks from her shall not eat supper tonight." With that, Orasue left, leaving Rin alone with the children. She cringed at the thought of anyone of these kids not getting any food, and reminded herself to leave only good grades for all of them.

One of the kids whispered "The old hag is gone!"

Their eyes moved from the door, to the pretty young teacher in front. She observed how the kids were so scared of Orasue, treating her as if she was the Wicked Witch of the West. She didn't want that.

"Hi, please call me Rin! She brought out one of her friendly smiles, "How are you? I'll be spending a day with you today so I hope we'll all get along, you don't have to worry 'cause I don't bite!"

"Of course you don't! You're human!" a cute rabbit demon of five years giggled in response.

"So what are you going to teach us today?", another little human girl asked sweetly.

"I haven't decided yet, but I was thinking of gardening."

All of their eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh! Pick Flowers! Pick Flo-

"THAT'S BORING!" The half-demon from the back interrupted, his face turned into an angry scowl directed towards Rin. _How precious!_ He was a half human, half-bear demon who looked so adorable with tan hair, round nose and light blue eyes.

"Hi _baby bear_! Do you have anything else in mind?"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! It's_ Kotaro_, and I want to play ball instead!"

"Shut up, half-breed! She's the boss today, plus nobody wants to play ball with you!" The eldest of the kids scolded him. The argument went on and on between the children, turning the room into a full-blown noise barrage.

"Kids you need to stop fighting!" Rin tried to calm the students down but they couldn't be stopped by a simple warning anymore, until a certain someone's strong demonic aura stopped by the doorway.

The room fell into silence as soon Sesshomaru made his appearance. "He's the scariest one. Even creepier than the witch!" the little rabbit whispered again, in an attempt not to be heard by the inudaiyoukai. Obviously a fail attempt. Another comment was given from Kotaro.

"He's not that scary! Look at him! He looks just like a girl!" Sesshomaru shot narrow-eyed glances to him, but it only made the half-breed dare to challenge him more…

"I CAN TAKE HIM DOWN WITH A SWIFT KICK IN THE BALLS!" The half-breed laughed boisteriously at his own declaration of war. The little ones gasped in shock, Rin's eyes upsized totally, while the eldest's face landed on his palm.

_NO...HE...DID...NOT!_

* * *

Rin cautiously looked at a fuming Sesshomaru. In a blink of an eye, the vile creature's collar was already hanging onto one of his claws. The young half-breed antagonizing him was a courageous act, he'll give him that much, if this boy thinks he could escape the consequences of doing such a thing…

"You dare to challenge me?" The child was dead set on making him even more furious, the look on his light blue irises reminded him of the young Inuyasha. Anger intensified fast as a spreading fire and the grip on his yellow shirt tightened. Rin and the other children shuddered at his violent response, fearing for his life.

Kotaro struggled and kicked away in his grasp, but he was no match for the taiyoukai's strength. "I WILL NOT YIELD! ARGH!"

_That's it! _

Rin uncomfortably clapped in mocked entertainment "Wow! *clap clap* Now that was an awesome display of strength, right everyone?" She strolled towards the two men in front of the class, both confused by the young lady's actions. The audience seemed to be confused as well, hesitatingly nodding their heads.

"Takahashi-senpai is an unusually strong demon, and so is Kotaro but he needs to control his rather, hateful mouth. So as a punishment…we'll play… basketball."

"WHAT? How is that a punishment? I love the game!" Kotaro shouted in joy even though he was still hanging on to the demon.

"You, versus Takahashi-sama."

The half-demon growled in protest, saying that the "girly mutt" was way too strong for someone like him. Her eyes darted to Sesshomaru whose face spoke of disagreement. Rin didn't want to end this day with the daiyoukai hurting Kotaro, nor the latter to end up losing dinner due to his bad behavior. It was hitting two birds with one stone, but will the silver-headed demon participate?

"I'm not interested." He started to walk away from the class but the doe-eyed girl cut him off his tracks. Her palm gently tapped his right arm unconsciously.

"Please give Kotaro a chance, I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it." Rin begged him, knowing that he was on his way to report the half-human's troublesome attitude.

"Punishment is an inevitable part of discipline, . His behavior will not be tolerated." Once again, he has valid points. How can you argue with a person with an IQ of over 200?

_But he's just a little kid with no family._

"Then I swear to make a difference before the day ends." Rin explained, "The child is simply misunderstood. If you'll only…" she paused searching for a more mature version of the word "Play"

"…join us in the game then it would be so much fun."

_This Sesshomaru? Fun?_ He snorted at the woman was persuading him into playing a stupid game of ball scrambling, which he had no intention of doing so. It was a complete waste of time, and that inbred fool was not meant to have dinner tonight, he did not care, he should eat his foul words instead. However, the delicate little form in front of him was the one he was concerned about. How can this girl be attached to a rambunctious kid in a matter of minutes after they have met? It was an issue he did not understand, but then again he never understood anything about her. Everything she does is right, her sad brown eyes which always spoke the truth makes him do things he usually did not do. Saving a life, watching her sleep at night, prioritizing her well-being, constant thinking of what she feels and now…

"Please trust me." She said sincerely with a smile with the exact same message. Inside his mind, Sesshomaru already lost the battle.

"Hn." His elegant steps took him back inside the classroom where youngsters are contemplating whether the game will be held or not. "You." His long mommy-finger pointed to the eldest demon in class, "will play in my position." The demon named_ Haruko_ obeyed immediately and soon they were outside where a neat-looking court stood. The little girls brought out pink pom-poms to cheer on the boys.

* * *

Sesshomaru already threatened Haruko to win or else he will lose his life, and also Rin that if her attempt to improve Haruko's attitude fails, then he loses his dinner. (And most probably his life, too but he does not tell her of course.)

The game started off nicely, Kotaro's team earning more points than Haruko's. The half-breed was not bad, easily beating the others. As he succeeds in shooting the ball, he sends off an evil smirk to Sesshomaru whose eyes flared with annoyance. It is a well-known fact that Kotaro has never lost a basketball game, but the daiyoukai has never lost to anything either. For the first time, one of them will lose to something then. He saw Rin at a distance cheering along with the young girls, and she looked… happy. It was enough.

Rin saw the exchange and tried to suppress the giggle planning to escape her lips. Kotaro and Sesshomaru are two different people, but similarly stubborn. It seems that Kotaro will win this game without a twist, the idea suddenly popped up when a series of offensive words came out of his mouth.

"Easy to win when you're playing with a bunch of losers, huh?" Kotaro boasted his score to the other team. _What an arrogant child,_ Sesshomaru thought. If he were his opponent, his head would have flown to Africa by now. On the other hand, he could not believe he was losing to an eight-year-old. Well not, until…

"Uh-oh, I forgot to tell you that 2 points will be deducted for each bad phrase you say, so that's two." Rin said aloud, causing the half-breed to stiffen. "WHAT THE HELL?" the half-demon complained.

"That's four!" A little girl holding a pink pom-pom screeched.

The game went on until the score in the end was 72 (Haruko)-95 (Kotaro) minus 13 offensive statements from the latter. Kotaro's team lost for the first time. If there was a good thing that came out from the game, it was that the bad words decreased significantly as the game continued, even Sesshomaru noticed. A progress.

* * *

The second part of the community service was gardening, the half-breed was assigned to clean up the dirt after the girls planted flowers. Kotaro managed to silence himself from speaking unholy words again up until the afternoon, trying to imagine that he would not have lost to the game if he had only been nicer to his teammates and to Haruko's team as well. Seeing how he was drenched in his sadness, Rin approached the young one and tried to soothe it.

"Do you know you're the best basketball player I've met?" Rin said softly while patting his head. "You are smart and adorable, but we have to watch what we say in front of others because it could offend people."

"I know. I am sorry, Rin. Maybe I lost my manners when I lost my family." His head was bowed down but Rin saw waterfalls of tears. "My parents were murdered by thieves, and since then I don't trust anyone. People pretend to understand when they really don't and it sucks." He used the back of his hand to wipe his tears.

Rin's heart broke into pieces upon hearing it and felt so sorry for him. Even if she lost her family, at least Aunt Kaede was left. "I understand." She said as she gave him a tight hug, even if his clothes were soiled, she didn't give a damn.

"You lost yours, too?" The half-demon asked. Rin gestured for him to keep it a secret since she did not want anyone to hear about it. "Okay. I promise not to tell anyone, not even your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, the girly mutt. I mean Takahashi-sama."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Well he always loo- Uh-oh here he comes." Kotaro pulled away from the hug and whispered in her ears "I think he likes you as much as I do." He gave her a kiss in the cheek, stuck his tongue out to Sesshomaru's direction and ran away as fast as he could.

Rin stood up, misstepping on a pot of loam soil but Sesshomaru caught her just in time. She mouthed a small thank you in return and said "It seems I have a talent for always getting into trouble don't I?"

"Hn." _So it seemed,_ he thought as he put her back into place. His sight move quickly where the bear had disappeared, reliving the way he hugged and kissed Rin on the cheek. He scrunched up his nose in detest, he knew it was an innocent one but there still lingers the fact that he did not want anyone to be close to her, other than himself.

"I think I'm done for the day but I have to sign these report cards, it'll take another fifteen minutes or so, then back to Tokyo." This day had been enjoyable, yet all good things must come to an end. Maybe, the fatigue and the stress that Friday has caused her were worth it, since Sesshomaru was on her side the whole day. She was simply happy.

The icy prince's palms held Rin's smooth face and used his thumb to wipe excess dirt caused by hugging Kotaro. So many things have happened, a basketball game, a hint of soil in his white shirt from the little girls, it was all because of her. He, himself did not want the day to end either. "I will take you home." It was a statement, he was never the one to ask, he always does what he thinks is fit. For the first time, she did not decline his offer. _Good._

"Yes. Please give me fifteen minutes more." She picked up her bag and started to sign report cards. "I'll be back!" She dashed excitedly towards the main office, a wide grin present on her face. The day turned out to be…wonderful. It's all because of him, the thought of someone like him escorting to and from home almost made her squeal. Maybe there's hope.

Hope for the both of us? _It's too early._

Nevermind.

After fifteen minutes she finished writing, leaving a small note for Kotaro to read. Sesshomaru was already waiting for her outside the car. He's a god, alright. His beauty even outshone the sunset, and he was taking her home. _Oh Rin you lucky girl._

"Thanks for the wait." She blushed furiously as she said it, leaving no room for pale skin. She peeked up at his beautiful golden irises, saying that it was alright. Little by little she is learning to talk to his eyes since he did not like to talk a lot. He opened the passenger door for her and as they drove into the orange tinted road from the afternoon sunset, she said,

"Thank you."

An elegant eyebrow raised in question, and as if reading his mind, she replied. "For this, and for being patient with the children." _For spending the day with me._ She bestowed him one of her happiest smiles, and it literally said everything without any further words. He was about to reply when a familiar sound coming from the depths of her stomach was heard.

"Oops. That was my human tummy, wanting its healthy dose of food, just ignore it." She was embarrassed for herself, how could it appear at what's supposed to be a touching scene? Rin was so busy with her thoughts that she did not see Sesshomaru ordering Jaken to make reservations. Suddenly, the car parked at a VIP parking space without notice, and saw a posh human restaurant in front of them. Wait...

_I'm having dinner?_

_With him?_

* * *

Kotaro was enjoying his meal when a small pink note from his report card fell from the table. The message made him smile. It was from Rin, in her own girly handwriting:

**_"I think I like him too, as much as I like you"_**

* * *

**Aren't kids wonderful? I don't have them yet but I have four nephews and four nieces myself, that's how I know. Please tell me what you think of my story. Tell me anything, suggestions, comments, I love reading your reviews even if they are not that long. Anyway, yes, the next chap will be a Stuck With You Part 2 and there they will discuss more personal stuff. Can you guys feel the transition of their relationship? I hope you enjoyed this. **

**Ern Ernestine 13624: Thank you for waiting patiently, I hope you stay tuned-in for the upcoming chapters as well.**

**LADY SILVERFOX: Much of the questions you've asked will be answered on the next chapter which I am hoping to finish by the end of December.**

**jj: Unfortunately, the culprit isn't found yet. Thank you for the regular reviews!**

**Shessyeah: Lord Sesshy turns into a jealous monster when it comes to Rin.**

**Karrat: Yes I will!**

**NekoxUsa: Thanks for stopping by, I hope you like this chapter.**

**Guest: Sessh is cute, and sizzling hot. Too bad he isn't real. Oh well...**

**Carcrash87: Thank you for liking my story, it definitely boosts my confidence since it's my first one.**

**Sphinx: I hope this chapter answers your inquiries.**

**For my other readers I encourage you to leave a review, (it'll be like a holiday gift, I tell you and it'll be so much appreciated.) Thanks everyone and have a great Holiday! **

**P.S. Apologies for typo/grammar/spelling errors overlooked. I always try to do my best.**


	6. Chapter 6: Stuck With You Part 2

**Twenty-two Fridays**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

**Author's note: Sorry for not keeping my word, there was to be another update before 2014 ended but unfortunately I had been terribly busy with real life. I have no good excuse at all.**

**Thank you for the kind responses from the last chapter, every single one of them gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart.**

**Once again, their romance will be set on a slower pace. I'm pretty sure that some of you (if not most and that includes myself) would like to see more action (kissing, citrus), but the story I had in mind would like to show how the two would fall in love first. It might make this story lose prospective readers here and there but I would like to follow my heart's desires as well. Thanks for understanding.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Stuck With You Part 2**

_It's a date…_

_It's not…_

_It's a date…_

_It's not…_

_It's officially a date…_

_He just took pity on you, forget it…_

His car parked on a vacant lot in front of a posh restaurant, but his steps lead them to somewhere else. _That was good_, Rin thought. Luxury always had a price and Rin who is living with only an adequate allowance for everyday expenses- has no room for it. Kaede would kill her if she used her emergency credit card for spending money for unnecessary stuff.

She was too busy in her thoughts that her body suddenly hit soft, silvery hair whose body suddenly halted in his steps. It was a two-second body contact which startled them both. Rin mumbled her apologies while Sesshomaru's said nothing, face impassive as ever, yet a delightful shiver across his demonic body was felt.

Recovering from her misstep, she observed the lush, green scenery in front of her, resembling a forest. It was breathtaking, like the ones usually seen in the movies. The scenery shone under the light of the crescent moon, exactly like the mysterious blue on the demon prince's forehead. Why he would invite her into a secluded area like this- Rin was not certain. Her brown orbs shifted to the beautiful demon from one feet away, who seems to be waiting for someone to come out.

Sure enough, a huge silhouette from behind those ancient-looking trees made its way to the both of them, it was, large, hairy and creepy. A slight shaking of the ground was caused by its own running paws.

"LORD SESSHOMARU! To what do I owe the pleasure?" a massive wolf demon, with auburn hair and sharp fangs with the size of road cones. His face was rounded though, which makes it funny and strangely cute at the same time. He surveyed the human girl beside his dog demon master, the first thing that came into his mind was "fresh meat".

"Shall I prepare this human girl for you mi 'lord?" Furry head and knees automatically bent down before Sesshomaru, while he continued saying "Would you like it roasted, deep fried? Medium rare? Or raw, your favorite? Tell me mi'lord and I'll be happy to— huh?

The demon prince took a few steps forward to say something to the foul-mouthed creature before him, leaving Rin with her delicate jaw hanging from its words.

_Wow, what a warm welcome that was._ Rin is speechless, the last image she would like to think of before eating was herself, being roasted, or deep fried or eaten raw by none other than Sesshomaru. The thought is disgusting enough, she did not know if she would be able to stomach even a single bite later. _Does he really eat humans?_ Surprisingly, she was pretty confident that he did not. The next time she glanced up, the beast was already in front of her, with a more friendly expression on his face.

"Hello human, I suppose you took my joke too seriously eh?" Plate-size eyes gleamed with imitated joy, and something else. The girl assumed it was because of the demon who now walks further to the trees.

"The name is Rin, and your joke was a really bad one." _How insensitive. He is so not cute._

"Ehh- I-I'm sorry! Of course Lord Sesshomaru will not eat humans! In fact, he despises your kind with passion!" Golden eyes pierced through his chest, making the wolf's heartbeat race faster. "R-right mi 'lord?"

"Royokan, enough of your mindless chatter." It amazes Sesshomaru how someone could turn more moronic with each day passing by, just like the half-brother that he unfortunately had.

"F-forgive me mi'lord!" He turned to Rin again, "I make the best sushi platters in Japan, but only the biggest serving for Lord Sesshomaru's most honorable guest! Come on girl, follow me." Royakan said that all too quickly, fearing for his own life. His Lord previously "requested" that he shut up his demonic mouth yet he certainly could not. What is it with the human girl anyway? It is true that his Lord never ate humans yet what would you expect with a demon who suddenly shows up with a specie he most hated? Take it out on a date?

A date? How laughable, but he daren't. The three of them continued walking until they passed an invisible barrier.

Oh well he would just remember those words he threatened him with.

"_The next time your deplorable mouth offer me humans, I shall gladly cut your tongue off and feed it to the demon crows in this very forest."_

* * *

The place was love at first sight itself. A lovely Japanese cottage was in the center of the forest, like dwarf's cottage in Snow White. The interior is all untreated wood and shoji screens, lit by antique Japanese lanterns, exactly how an ideal sushi bar would look like. Instead of sitting in the bar counter where chef Royakan is creating his masterpiece, Sesshomaru and Rin were placed beside the main window, where the flowers, bushes and trees give off chilly spring air. Rin took out the gray scarf from her tote bag and placed it around her shoulder. A beautiful night, yet it still pales in comparison to the even more majestic creature right across the table.

Giving him a nice, warm smile, she says "I have never seen such a place. This is all so enchanting." She looked around some more, "Tell me how you discovered this forest." She asked with full curiosity.

"A part of my father's estate for over a millennium, this used to be an open area until years ago, some thoughtless humans decided to cut down trees from this forest. A barrier needed to exist since then." He replied.

_Longest sentence ever! _Rin's face lit up in astonishment. "You could talk!" She giggles nonchalantly, "Anyway, a barrier is understandable, I would totally hate for those lovely old trees to go. Also, I think I could now grasp the hatred towards humans. Maybe I don't like my kind so much either." Come to think of it, some humans caused calamities like flood, tons of wars and also genocides, not to mention, mother earth destruction. What colossal atrociousness. A long silence followed along with her train of thoughts.

_Even the death of my family…_

Sesshomaru watched her face contort into sadness, what exactly did she mean by not liking humans? Did something happen to her? He was determined to find out. Last Friday he ordered a background check on Rin, it is supposed to be ready tonight. For the meantime, his sole focus was on her. Royokan arrived on their table to serve the dishes.

"Here's a big platter of sushi for the lovely Rin… and a glass of Pellegrino for Lord Sesshomaru. Will the lady like some strawberry milkshake or some sake to accompany the meal? Yours truly makes the finest milkshakes ever tasted!"

On the table was the most exquisite array of sushi Rin has ever seen, so delectably arranged she was feeling sorry to eat it. "Thank you Royokan but a glass of warm water will do… uh…" she demanded, "Why isn't he eating?"

"Lord Sesshomaru does not partake in human food, girl." He whispered silently, Sesshomaru looking away. Royakan left instantly for the order. "Water coming right up! Enjoy the rest of the meal!"

Rin looked to Sesshomaru who was waiting for her to bite on something. "Eh-_Itadekimasu_." Being watched while eating was a pet peeve but she tried to concentrate on the sumptuous food, taking a bite on a _Hamachi._ (Sushi made of Young Yellowtail fish)

"This is good." Every sushi just gets better and better, no five-star sushi restaurant will be able to match the kind of artistry this platter had. "Perhaps, I shall forgive his threat of cannibalism from earlier." As she munched on the fifth sushi, Sesshomaru asked,

"Does the food satisfy you?"

"Are you kidding? This is the best meal I've had in months." She munched on the sixth. "This day is the best; (seventh munch) being able to help, and being with you, and knowing that the children back in the orphanage are enjoying dinner right now, it's more than gratifying." (Eighth munch) _Oh heck. What did I just say? Gods, take me right now._

_Being with me huh? _Content with Rin's face color changing from blue to a pomegranate red, he carefully switched the question. "Why help the half-demon?"

Rin dropped her chopsticks gently on the plate at his question, "Because, violence is not an answer for the situation. I'm dealing with an angry kid whose parents were unreasonably murdered, causing hate and distrust. Unlike you, he doesn't have family to put him in his proper place. What he has is a bunch of children who feels indifferent toward him, and an old lady who makes him skip dinner when he does bad things. I mean, what do you expect?" She picked up the chopsticks again and ate.

The seriousness of her tone did not go unnoticed. "He takes a liking on you, not to others."

"Of course he would, maybe because I understood. Maybe I made him feel special. Actually, I know another person who hates all but one." _I'm pretty sure this one he figures out. _Sesshomaru knew who she was pertaining to, turning his face into a slight pout. If anything, it made him look more adorable than ever. Rin let out a spit of giggles at that.

"Hn." It was more of a signal to stop the tiny guffaws, although hers are charming. While it was true that he hated everyone, what manner of force did this human girl have to not hate her? She was a breath of fresh air amongst women who either shook in fear at his presence, or beautiful demonesses who used their impeccable beauty, shamelessly flashed whatever "asset" they had, thinking that mere body parts will guarantee them a lifetime of riches and power.

On the right corner, Rin was simple, kind, trusting and mature. Her face wore not an ounce of coloring, her clothing was not elaborate nor expensive. Aside from the physical beauty, she is grateful of whatever is given to her, she is patient, understanding, and she never complains. She is, admirable. Admirable to what point though? There is no label to it yet.

"May I ask though, what are you doing here on a Sunday? Shouldn't you be home with your family?" Part of her wished that he was there to spend time with her, but Rin knew that there was more to it than whatever is being shown to her.

"I choose not to be." Huh? Rin knew she had trouble with Inuyasha, but his parents?

"Perhaps I wished to spend time with you." It came out spontaneously, unthinking. Maybe it had to do with the way the lanterns glimmer in her eyes, or how the locks of stray hair frame her heart-shaped face. Or maybe it was a counterattack on what she said on "being with you" earlier, or to distract her from prying in to his despicable, lonely, life at home. An innocent blush swept across her face from hearing it.

"Really? I mean, as a friend, yes?" _Say no._

_No._ "Yes."

"Thank you, then. For spending time with me." Rin's tone was of disappointment. "But, seriously, you don't know how lucky you are." She took the one last bite of the nigiri while continuing, "There's a family waiting for you at your house, unlike those children. Be grateful." Little did he know she was also referring to one of those children.

"Hn. I see no need for such."

On a lighter note, their relationship was a good start. _It will do,_ she told herself. Besides, the possibility of him and her does not exist. Does it? Fast forwarding to the future, reality hits her early.

He is a demon, she is a human.

They live in two different worlds.

He is known for his deep hatred for hanyous. His heirs shall be pure-blooded dog demons.

She will die before he even obtains a single wrinkle.

At the end of her thoughts, the last glimmer of hope slowly subsided. It hurt to know when you are just starting to get to know this special person, that is when you realize that some things were not just meant to be. Although, it would be better for these feelings to end sooner than later.

Sesshomaru, like Rin was calculating the limits of their newfound relationship. It means two things. One, the nighttime visits must be stopped. Two, it would mean looking for another someone who would replace the unfamiliar feelings she stirred inside of him. It was confusing why he had not considered at the very first glint of interest, Rin was human. A human he should have stirred clear of since the first time he saw her. She was human, for god's sake.

So many unanswered questions.

Long silence all over again.

Royokan at the bar counter was wondering_, For how long do they intend to stare at each other without talking? It's been ten minutes!_

As if on cue, Sesshomaru shot him a deadly look which made him run into the depths of the forest. Rin laughed a little bit to fend off the sadness. She looked at her brown leather watch. It was 8pm.

"We should leave." Sesshomaru announced.

"Hai!" A more energetic reply from Rin. "Bye Royokan! Arigatooo!"

A sound of howling was heard, she assumed it was the gigantic wolf demon saying his farewells from a distance. "Let's go?"

"Hn." Sesshomaru grunted as they walked out of the forest.

* * *

"You're very powerful, you know? Sometimes I envy people like you." His right eyebrow raised in inquiry. They were almost at Rin's house.

"You can basically do whatever you want that is, with nobody controlling you. Unlike me."

"Something suppresses you from doing something?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yeah, what do you do when you're in that kind of situation?" Rin was currently thinking of her music teacher who wouldn't allow her to join the music club, because she can't sing in public yet.

_Except for the fact that I cannot make you mine,_ "I have never been."

"That's cool." She continued walking with him, catching his eyes looking at her. "Oh, just in case you're wondering. It's about school clubs. I'm not a great student like you, I admit sometimes I am not able to pass some projects due to lack of time. That's why I need to join a school club to gain extra credit. I've chosen one actually, the thing is... a guardian of mine won't let me."

"I have never been there, that's because I don't let anyone take control. Not even my father."

Rin's eyes widen in response. "Takahashi-senpai…"

"The only thing that stops you is yourself." He said as they drove home.

Those few words from him was a stainless steel pan slammed on her head. It was her life, her voice, not his. Her heart overflew with so much encouragement, all from him. She almost felt teary-eyed from coming to understand.

"Arigatou, Sesshomaru-sama, for everything. I'll do my very best." Rin said with a huge smile. _Thank you. _The silver car stopped at Rin's front porch after telling him the directions, which was obviously no longer needed.

"See you on Friday!" Rin cheerfully added before waving goodbye. After all the upside downs, she was grateful for this day.

_I'll see you on Friday._ Sesshomaru thought.

* * *

**Rin Nakanishi Ishikawa**

Date of Birth: March 19, 1999

Address: 11259 South Garfield Avenue, Downey CA 90242

1-16-19 Kamidaira, Fussa Tokyo

Mobile Number: 81-90-1750-1352

Social Security: 987-27-2389

Occupation: Undergraduate Student

Tokyo High School

Prior Education: Private Education under Mrs. Selma Crawford

November 2005- June 2009

Downey High School

September 2009- March 2015

Previous Employment: None found

Father: Saito Ishikawa

Deceased: October 8, 1970 – November 5, 2005

Mother: Katarina Nakanishi

Deceased: January 15, 1972- November 5, 2005

Brothers/Sisters:

Ryuu Ishikawa:

Deceased: July 12, 1992- November 5, 2005

Inari Ishikawa:

Deceased: January 5, 2002- November 5, 2005

Rika Ishikawa: Unborn female, about three months old

Guardian/s:

Kaede Nakanishi (Aunt)

January 12, 1979- present

Employment: Kaede's Events Inc.

Religious Affliations: None found

Relationships: None identified as of present

* * *

Attached to the background report was a photo of her along with Kagome, Sango and Ayame walking inside a Forever 21 shop in Tokyo. She was wearing an orange sundress with a cream colored Sunday hat. The information gathered rendered him speechless. Truly.

_ "But, seriously, you don't know how lucky you are."_

_"There's a family waiting for you at your house, unlike those children. Be grateful." _How was he to know that she was pertaining to herself?

He shut the while folder closed. For the first time in his life, he did not know what to do.

* * *

**It's like 5am in the morning in here. My head is aching and I'm tired but, it's ok.**

**Please pardon me for any spelling, grammatical, typographical, error that may have occurred.**

**Was this chapter depressing? Too much up and downs eh? Typing Rin's background check was one of the most depressing things I have had to do in my life. But it just adds to the drama. They have sort of "broken up" here, how do they "get back" together? Well Sesshy just you wait until you hear little Rin sing. On to the next chapter, Taking The Lead.**

**Any suggestions on the first Japanese song which Rin can sing publicly?**

**Please feel free to review, for the tenth time, I love reviews. Especially long ones. Love you guys, until the next update.**


	7. Chapter 7: Taking the Lead

**Twenty Two Fridays**

**DISCLAIMER: The characters of Inuyasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The songs, covers and Goosehouse don't belong to me.**

**I can't believe it's been more than a year now and I know some readers have been waiting for this next chapter. Please accept my sincerest apologies. Lots of RL commitments but anyway, here it is. Finally. Phew. **

**Please don't forget to R&amp;R. **

**Chapter 7: Taking the Lead**

* * *

**Friday, Auditions Day**

The afternoon sunshine hovers Tokyo High. Summer was fast approaching, as the atmosphere becomes warmer with each passing moment. Maybe, part of the heat that was mixed in the air was from the tension inside room 112, better known as KTM-12's music room.

Today was auditions, a hunt for the new lead female vocalist that was Tsubaki's role before a sudden departure in the group. Tsubaki's absence affected the group so much, thousands of YouTube members were at a loss at her disappearance. When it was announced that a search for a new female lead was held, it won't be denied that so much people were not so open to the idea. It would be a tough challenge for the winner.

A line formed of about fifteen to twenty girls patiently wait outside the music room. Some of the girls were doing vocal warm-ups, some practicing their pieces with their own guitar. Among the dozens of girls auditioning, only one would be chosen. One girl.

Inside a restroom on the third floor, a pale-looking Rin and a red-faced Ayame were both staring at the small window. A deep sigh was out of the wolf girl's lungs, releasing some of the worry she had for Rin—who was still contemplating whether to join the auditions or not.

"Will you stop fidgeting?" Ayame says as she dials a number on Rin's phone. The day is almost to its close. Souta has called Rin about three times to let her know that the search was still waiting for her. The raven-haired girl shook her head, securing the beloved gray scarf around her neck at the same time.

"Let's call that prick of a teacher of yours."

"No, no. I can't do that." Rin snatches the phone away from her lady wolf friend's clawed hands. Ayame rolls her eyes in annoyance, green irises fading. They have been talking about this for a week and still, she was chickening out. "You don't understand our relationship."

"Fine. Explain. You're exceptionally good. It's unfair. You're in Japan where he could not hunt you down, and you need the credits! Have you forgotten how you almost failed in P.E.?" Her facial expression, equivalent to "_Are you critically insane?"_ is in plain view. Ayame can be such a pushover sometimes, as if watching that hidden, stupefying voice go to waste is a major crime committed in the society.

"He's been teaching me for six years, maybe he has a good reason why he didn't want me to use my voice." Taking a deep breath she went on, "Believe me, I want this just as bad as those girls on the bottom floor, music is my life." Both her heart and mind was telling her to go and sing her heart out, but is frightened of the guilt of betraying her own long-time tutor which might catch up later on.

"That's exactly my point! Tell me, if it's your last day on Earth would you give it a shot?"

"Yeah…" Beautiful brown eyes answered honestly, a sparkle of hope igniting her friend's excitement. She sure knows where to hit.

"Good to know, now go out there and kick some ass! C'mon! Souta's waiting!" She drags Rin out of the comfort room to the hallway. The uncomfortable pull of her hand it made Rin howl in pain. Ayame quickly apologized to her, massaging the left arm she did not intentionally hurt.

Even in pain, her voice was bewitching, so entrancingly magnificent enough to stop people on their footsteps. Why won't her damned coach allow her to join KTM-12? Were they not good enough for her? Or was he simply protecting her from others who would take advantage of her talent? What Ayame only knew was that Rin was already old enough to make her own decisions. Even if the school music group was an indie one, surely it would lead her to somewhere, someday? Her thoughts fall short as Rin spoke after tending to her hand.

"Please give me another half-hour to decide, Ayame. Right now, I'd like to head to class."

"You have thirty minutes, but trust me, the pestering will only get so much worse." Ayame threatened, as she happily strutted along the obsidian tiled corridors ahead of the confused human girl, plotting something which would surely throw her in the pits of the auditions.

* * *

**Rin's POV**

It was three versus one now, and was so much worse. The moment my tiptoe stepped inside Chemistry class, Kagome cried out "WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!" The whole room stopped whatever they were doing. Yes, I mean everyone. All fifty-eight of them.

Her finger points at me, and now, their heads pretty much do, too. Gosh, Kagome can be so annoying. At the corner of my eye, I can see Sesshomaru and Kikyo both raise an elegant brow at the situation. They look displeased.

"I told you, it'll get worse." My best friend snorted. I told them to give me at least half an hour. It's just been five minutes and my brain already feels like meat stuffed inside a pressure cooker.

"Why the heck are you pressing me so much? Why don't you go in my place instead?" I retorted. Honestly, it's hard for me. My voice teacher since I was ten only asked for a little request before the lessons started, and that is not to sing in public without his permission. It was alright for me to sing, as long as it were at private occasions, but not something as big as KTM-12. I realized I had made the biggest mistake in my entire life.

I asked him why only once, the time where I look forward to being granted admission, but he only snapped at me. Ranted about how this "amateur" band would take advantage of my talent, of how my voice will seem out-of place, singing with people who never even had voice lessons before. Never have I felt so bad in so many years, because in my own perspective, KTM-12 makes awesome music. I was about to explain this to my three friends, but…

"Ladies, please save your mindless tittle-tattle for later and sit down, you can save it for the school cafeteria. Lecture starts in a minute." It was Kikyo's motherly voice. Sango was murmuring something about being a kill joy.

"Yes, yes we know, Ms. Principal!" Kagome huffed in response. I only know a little about their feud, what I do know is how much they loathe each other. With that, Ayame whisked me away to my seat.

About five minutes into our lecture about chemical bonds, my fingers fumble the silicon protector of my baby pink colored cellphone, aching to call a particular number whose answers will be dreadful to hear. In addition to that, the three girls have started poking the sides of my arms every ten seconds. What can I say? Totally bothersome.

An announcement burst out of the speakers attached on the hallways. _Souta._

"_Attention to all females from all levels, if you think you've got what it takes to be lead female vocalist of the school's very own KTM-1, please proceed to Room 112 for auditions. Arigato-gozaimasu, have a great day ahead!"_

"Rin, I think that was Souta, calling for you." Sango suggested.

"Oh yes, that was him. He told me you wouldn't answer his calls so I did the honors." Kagome whispered with a pretty wink on her left eye.

"I can't believe you guys are doing this-"

"Oh hell yeah we will, and you can't stop us!" Ayame screeched it out loud, accidentally. That got our professor pushed to the edge, forcing her to transfer a seat next to Kouga at the back of the room. I saw Kouga chat her up about what was going on, with Inuyasha rolling his eyes in irritation. Moving Ayame at the back though was a fruitless effort, for now she is making hushed noises directed at me.

At the background two more announcements have been made, and I hear the boys telling Ayame to shut up already, but to think that I have friends who are willing to suffer the insults just to be able to drag a coward like me to the auditions, continuing to encourage me just made my heart melt…like butter.

But come to think of it, I've followed my coach unfailingly on the last six years, never questioning his intentions and ideals. Making me strive for perfection, dictating how I should sing, even my diet. I don't even know how many years it has been since I've last eaten a cone of vanilla ice cream, or drank a glass of milk. I did everything he asked of me, but I've never gotten anywhere yet. Now that a chance is right here in front of me, he just won't let go. What am I supposed to do?

_I feel so tired._

My fingers rummage through the dark bangs framing my face, my ears still aware of the ugly noises from the boys arguing with my lady wolf friend, our professor heading out to the restroom, and another announcement coming from the music club, with _Kanda-san speaking…_

"…feel free to sing your heart out at Music Room 112, for the auditions will close in about _five minutes_..."

…

**NO!**

* * *

The girl never strayed far from his thoughts.

It had been several days since they've last met. Even though the handsome demon hated to admit it himself, he had been very much anticipating for this Friday to come. At the struck of one, he could hear her own steps approaching, her unique floral scent gracefully hitting his sensitive nose. It was the kind of scent that makes most demon's mouth water, save for the few idiots sitting beside him. This week he has undergone a lot of stress from the family business.

The night visits are stopped just as he tried to promise himself. At first, staying away from her was like withdrawal from drugs. The more he resists- the more he craves. That girl always visited unwelcomely in his private musings. She was an addiction he could not ever risk to indulge in. Days passed by, hoping that thoughts of her will just disappear. Rin never did.

There were a lot of times that he was tempted to snatch her away from her domicile, to steal her away from the world and take her to a place where nobody but the two them will be there. Sesshomaru was always so sure of himself, always so rational on his views. Yet, this young lady drove him literally insane. He never understood it all.

_Is this what they call desire?_

In truth, what he missed was her company, her stories, her voice. Her smile that never fails to enchant him. How this happened fast he did not know. Or more probably, it was the contents of the background check that made him even more concerned about her.

_Concern, that's what it is._

"Hn."

"Huh? You're saying yes?" Kikyo's chinky eyes went wide. They were arguing about the cancellation of the upcoming ball this upcoming February due to the amount of students engaging in inappropriate acts of PDA. The tall, pale human in front of him was suggesting to give those "children" a chance to improve on their behavior. On the other hand, Sesshomaru never tolerated such moronic actions. How old were they? Fifteen? Sixteen? They could barely even do assignments, much less hunt for a job to feed himself, or the human girl that will soon become impregnated during courtship. How irresponsible. Cancelling the ball will serve its purpose.

If only it was alright to kill human children pretending to be adults, they would have been torn to shreds.

"The answer is NO."

"You're being irrational, Sesshomaru."

"This discussion is over."

"You seem distracted lately, and I don't understand why you're being such a pain in the neck today. You never-"Kikyo's complaint was cut short by Kagome's ugly squealing. _That girl._ She is quite a nuisance.

Thinking that she might have lost the argument today, she turned to Sesshomaru, about to tell him that the conversation is not over yet, but his gaze was entirely fixated on something, or someone? Although his face wears the unamused expression, his eyes were unlike anything she's ever seen. It was as seeing a flower bloom right before his very own eyes. Enraptured, somewhat captivated…by whom? Kikyo followed Sesshomaru's gaze and saw a figure hiding behind the demoness named Ayame.

It was the new girl named Rin, blushing under everyone's scrutiny.

_Ah, a human. I understand._

"Ladies, please save your mindless tittle-tattle for later and sit down, you can save it for the school cafeteria. Lecture starts in a minute."

"And you, talk to me again when you're in a better mood." Kikyo told him and left with a smirk.

_I believe I have found my weapon._

* * *

It bothered him that Rin was distracted. After that little scene that the women she called friends caused, she sat down without even acknowledging his presence like she usually does. As if he did not exist. But was that not what he wanted? A quiet Rin, who knew? It was completely disturbing, no matter how hard he tried to ignore her.

_Stop it. Stop thinking of her._

Her mesmerizing chocolate eyes continued to stare blankly at what he could see as a cellphone, pressing some keys, while at the same time the human woman with jet black hair and another demoness kept poking on her sides. An announcement went through the speakers, asking for females to join a useless amateur band. The four argue about something, but he refused to eavesdrop on their little conversation for it was lowly. Seconds later, the lady wolf was transferred beside the mongrel called Kouga.

The half-breed started to complain about the hushing sounds and the repetitive announcements from the music club. Their chemistry professor went out to the restroom for a little while, leaving the students to take down notes from the presentation.

* * *

_A few minutes later…_

Is this woman testing his patience? _If she does not stop the stupid noises, then I shall simply slice off her tongue with my own claws. _Sesshomaru thought.

"OY AYAME! Don't have enough ass to approach your girlfriends, eh? Just shut up, will ya? I'm trying to concentrate here." Inuyasha said angrily. However, the demoness had other plans. The last broadcast went through, saying that the auditions will be closed in a matter of five minutes, that is when Inuyasha snapped.

"WILL SOMEBODY GET THE FUCK OFF THEIR SEAT AND PROCEED TO THE AUDITIONS FOR MY POOR EAR'S SAKE? MAKE IT STOP!"

Rin suddenly stood up from her seat and walked out silently. The moment she stepped out of the door, her friends let out high-pitched screams that showed off their tonsils. Ayame was ecstatic. "Yes! I knew it! I just knew she would go…"

"Hold on…" Kagome told the girls to slow down and started typing a number. "Hello Souta? Yes, she's on her way…"

"Go Riiiin-chaaan!" Sango cheered on.

"What was that about?" Kouga who has been scratching his head was confused and Ayame happily explained the situation to the group. She told them about the night at the karaoke bar where Rin and Souta did duets together and how they blended so well together.

"Well we did not know Rin would try out, but I hope that Inuyasha over there didn't offend her too much!" Miroku felt guilty in his hanyou friend's place.

"As if I care! I don't know what's so big about singing, as if anyone couldn't do i-OUCH!" Sesshomaru darted his pen up Inuyasha's nose, making it bleed a little. _Sesshomaru you bastard!_

The daiyoukai has clearly had enough of Inuyasha's wailing and cursing. How fate decided to relate them as brothers, he did not know. It was mixing oil with water.

So that is what it was all about.

"_Oh, just in case you're wondering. It's about school clubs. I'm not a great student like you, I admit sometimes I am not able to pass some projects due to lack of time. That's why I need to join a school club to gain extra credit. The thing is... a guardian of mine won't let me."_

And he called the music club a useless, amateur band. Now he felt more guilty, yet at the same time he was interested on how her singing is like, if it would surpass the abilities of the former lead.

_Interesting indeed._

The class Vice President observed Sesshomaru closely and laughed a little. "In that case, we shall support Ishikawa-san in her endeavors, ne?"

* * *

"_The only thing that stops you is yourself."_

Well, that definitely made her butt move out of her seat once she heard the final announcement_. I haven't even said a word to him today,_ but when the auditions are done Rin made sure to thank him, even she did not win in the end. But first things first.

Just before knocking on the Music Room, she left a simple voice message for the person who does not want her to belong in it.

"Sorry if I won't be able to obey you this time. I am sorry, but I want this so badly. But I promise not to use whatever we've worked on. I will practice every day and take care of my voices." She pressed END while knocking on the door.

Souta opened it._ This is it Rin, no turning back. _She glanced all around, seeing Kanda-san a bit surprised for seeing Rin inside the auditions. She apologized for coming in so late.

"Don't worry, come in." Souta introduced Rin to their music teacher, who began to explain the process. They needed a female lead today, so since there were a lot of girls auditioning they decided to have the eight remaining girls to be divided into groups and sing together. Two girls whose voices would standout will be challenged to a singing faceoff with each other.

It was Rin's turn with her group, singing a song called "Kimi No Shiranai Monogatari" by Supercell, also in a slow acoustic version. The four female candidates were joined by Kanda-san, who earlier told Rin not to be nervous and good luck. Also joining the group was the pianist called Sayaka.

The six girls began to sing their parts, leaving Rin the highest notes in the end. They were all impressive, although Kanda-san's voice went a bit hoarse in the middle of the performance_. I wouldn't blame her. _Rin took a deep breath as her part was here, crossing her fingers at the back, hoping her voice won't crack.

**…_Iwanakatta__  
__…Ienakatta__  
__…Nidoto modorenai_**

**_…Ano natsu no hi__  
__…Kirameku hoshi_**

"She's great isn't she, sensei?" Souta's voice crept behind the music teacher's back.

He agreed. "The chemistry is splendid. You know her?"

**_…Yoru wo koete__  
__…Tooi omoide no kimi ga__  
__…Yubi wo sasu__  
__…Mujakina koe de_**

"Her name is Rin. Naturally, I've saved the best for last, but it's still up to you to decide." Souta referred to Rin having no proficiency at playing musical instruments.

"I'll decide after the challenge."

As soon as the keys faded, the room applauded for the two performances. Rin, she was just simply enjoying the whole experience._ I think I did great, though it's not over yet. _After about ten minutes of evaluating the contestants, it was not so hard to make decisions anymore. Rin and another candidate named Yuka were selected for the final sing-off.

It was then that Rin realized the whole school will hear them sing, too. Crap. _This is just perfect. I have to be perfect. What to sing, though?_

* * *

Ginta who has been shamelessly peeking out from the windows saw girls from the music room going to their homerooms already. "Why is Ishikawa-san not back yet?"

"Perhaps she did not get accepted and then committed seppuku! What do ya think Hakakku?"

"Shut up moron! Wait 'til—"That was when a voice boomed over the school speakers.

"Good afternoon everyone, today we introduce you our two finalists, one who gets a chance to join our group as our female lead vocalist. Yuka Matsuguchi from J-4, and Rin Ishikawa from J-2. Please sit back, relax and enjoy the music, thank you."

A song called "Onnanoko Wa Nakanai" strums through a guitar, where Yuka sang softly yet powerfully on her part. Truthfully, the judges think that Yuka-san already has a dominant voice to begin with, in addition to her perfect guitar strokes. If she took voice lessons and breathing exercises though, then she would garner much better results.

**saisho kara wakatteta****  
****kizutsuku koi datte****  
****you no nai denwa amai kisu toriko ni natte shimaeba****  
****kizuita koro ni wa tada no omocha mitai****  
****daremo anata anata mitai na yatsu no tame ni****  
****onnanoko wa nakanai**

Meanwhile, an impatient Ayame was looking forward to hearing Rin's voice. "Finally…" she sighed. " I wonder who would win though?"

_Where's Rin?_ Sesshomaru thought.

**meiku wa sono mama de****  
****betto ni asa ga kichatte****  
****mezamashi ga sekasu no****  
****chotto matte!**

_That's her?_

His insides began to relax. Like a sound coming from the angels from up above. His ear proudly listened. Who knew she had such capabilities? Her voice was surely a show-stopper, as everyone in the class fell in a bunch of oohs and aahs. Her voice was unlike anything he's ever heard before. It was strong, yet it blends so beautifully with others. Music was never a hobby for him, especially tasteless modern music. Rin however, was able to create a beautiful version of the song, something only done by a true artist. She was definitely pitch-perfect.

**saenai hajimari ni tameiki****  
****tsukuri warai mo nagaku wa tsuzuka nakute**

**narenai koto ni****  
****owareru mainichi wa****  
****kimochi ga sora mawaru bakari****  
****kata o otoshite kaeru no****  
****konna toki ni wa ano ko to waraitai naa****  
****ima wa watashi watashi tsuyoku naru tame ni****  
****onnanoko wa nakanai**

His mind had been recording the song, up to highs down to the lows. Once they heard her, he could not stop listening. She is more than fitting to join them.

As soon as the song ends, the class debated on who would win. The Chemistry professor decided them a short quiz from the noise. He finally says "If Ishikawa-san wins, the she will be exempted."

_Of course she would win, she should. _Ayame thought.

3:30 pm.

* * *

"Great news to everyone, KTM-12 has a new female lead! Thank you to all who participated in the auditions, it would not be possible without you…" The speaker prattled more about the success of the auditions, thanking the school administration and to everyone else who cooperated.

"As for the winner, she will be revealed . Stay tuned in for KTM-12's first performance with our new member. Our livestream is on Saturday at 7pm…"

"Hey Kagome, you think she won?" Sango asked.

"I hope so, although the Yuka girl is very good, too."

"Nonsense! I'm pretty sure she won." Ayame argued. How could these girls think otherwise? Rin has the prettiest voice she has ever heard. It was understandable though since Kagome and Sango doesn't have ears sharp as hers. "Well whatever happens, we're going to support her."

At this point, half of the class have gone to their extracurricular activities after class dismissal. The others wait for who might the winner be, that included the guys at the back. Kikyo has packed her bags as well, waiting for Sesshomaru to proceed to the office.

"I believe we should go ahead. There are meetings we…"

A sudden slide of the door interrupted Kikyo's sentence once again, it was Rin, with a small frown on her face.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Ayame asked in confusion.

* * *

"How am I going to tell them?"

**-Flashback-**

"_This has been the longest fifteen minutes of my life."_ Fifteen grueling minutes of waiting, of mind torture. Her heart beat frantically like helicopter blades. Every second she prayed and beg that whatever happens, whatever decision they make would be for the best. In front of her was the small private glass meeting room for the club. It was one of the times she wished that she had Inuyasha's hearing ability. Looking at Yuka, who was lightly strumming her guitar, seems to be nervous too. Rin offered her a small smile.

Finally, after a minute or so, the music teacher, Souta, and the rest had gathered in front. It was like an American Idol finale where the host, proclaims the winner of the contest.

"After a round of performances we have concluded who's going to be the new female lead vocals of our humble group. Yuka please step forward."

Rin's heart almost faltered when didn't hear her name. "Oh great." On the bright side, she'll never have to worry about her music teacher's sermon once he knew Rin will be lead. She will just have to figure out on how to tell her friends.

She wondered about Sesshomaru and what he'll make of it when he knows she lost to someone. Would he take it as a weakness? Would he see her as a disappointment? Never she had been so ashamed and heartbroken her whole life.

"Rin, please step forward." _Huh? Did the professor just call out my name? _

"Your voice, is one of the most incredible ones I have heard. It is no doubt that your voice will be a force to be reckoned with, and I can already see so much potential in you reinventing this group through your natural talent and light personality. However, your lack of proficiency in musical instruments is making us think twice whether you will make it or not."

Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of this competition is…

* * *

As Rin shut the door behind her, the small frown turned into the most beautiful smile she has ever expressed. "I did it."

In an instant all of the papers went out of Ayame's hand as she ran to hug Rin. Sango and Kagome cheered on and the others gathered to clap around her.

"You see? I keep telling you you'd make it!"

"We're so proud of you!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Me too, and all your hard work had paid off!" It was an almost teary-eyed Kagome.

"Guess all that pestering worked out in the end, huh? Congrats, Rin." Inuyasha patted her hair.

"Does that mean free barbeque for everyone huh Rin?"

"Sure thing." Rin said. "Go pack your things people you're in for free food! "

My aunt would have love to hear about this. Also… where's Lord Sesshomaru?

* * *

_So, she won that thing didn't she? Interesting. _Sesshomaru felt a surge of pride for her. He always knew the girl was something special, so much more than a sweet face and her kindness. He looked up to the sky, a flaming orange color was set in front of him as he walked. Another Friday signaling its goodbye. He must wait another week again for a license to look, to observe, to admire her from afar.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" A dainty, familiar voice called behind him. It was Rin, flushed-face from catching up to the handsome white prince. "Uhh,hi…"

"Rin." He replied. The demon lord silently wondered why she had been running like she did. "I trust you've been faring well?"

"Yes, thank you. I just have something to tell you before this day ends." Rin focused her gaze on his golden depths, a thousand times more beautiful than the blazing sunset behind them. Sesshomaru waited for her to go on.

"Do you remember that time you told me that the only thing that's stopping me is myself?" Rin smiled brightly. "I did it, I finally got in." She added. "It's you. Somehow, somewhere between my fears, your words gave me courage. For that, I want to thank you." The wind suddenly blew through the girl's hair, causing some strands to cover her lips.

Sesshomaru's hands instinctively fixed her hair, his thumb touching her soft bottom lip. "There's no need for that." _It's all you, I didn't do anything. _The demon lord thought.

"Still, I might have not gone there if it weren't for you. Please accept my sincere thanks. Rin's eyes suddenly moved to her skirt's pocket, and continued…

"Also, I want to give you something." She pulled out a small photograph from the last weekend in the orphanage. "Here, someone secretly took this without you looking..." She giggled a bit while handing the paper over his clawed fingers. It was a photo of one of the young orphans trying to put flowers on Sesshomaru's hair, while Rin on the left was covering her mouth with her hands. The demon raised his brow, as if waiting for an explanation.

"It's a nice remembrance, although I'm not sure you'd appreciate it Lord Sesshomaru. If you don't want it though, I can keep—

Before she finished her sentence his long fingers gently slid the photo out of her hands. _He's taking it!_

Of course to Sesshomaru, It was not like him at all to keep something absurd as a photo of him looking like some foolish child's Christmas tree, but rather, the happy image of the young woman on the left has taken his interest.

"I feel bad that I wasn't able to hang out with you just like last week. And that I-I _missed _you. I-I mean I missed us, talking like this." _Why couldn't I have ended it at that? _Not only she had embarrassed herself, the demon did not give off any response to her statement. Rin wasn't certain if it's a good thing or not. She didn't want to figure out.

"Well, I better go now. Kagome and the others might be looking for me. Have a nice day, Sesshomaru-senpai." With that, she turned around in frustration, still blushing furiously under his curious gaze. _You stupid, stupid girl. Not even a curt nod or anything. Honestly Rin what were you expecting? Him saying that he missed you too?_

Little did she know that her words a while ago rendered him speechless. Not only that girl has power to gain his attention, she also did hold power over his speech. What else can she do? Rin keeps surprising him everytime.

For the first time ever, the demon prince did not know how to respond. While their circumstances gave him no help, he did not want to cause frustration on the girl. At the same time, he cannot, be in any way truthful with her by reciprocating her feelings. He had to work out a reply, something that does not begin nor end anything. And then he remembered now…

"Rin."

"Uhh. Yes?" She stopped on her tracks but didn't face his way.

"I look forward to hear you sing again."

Doe eyes had blinked twice before absorbing his velvety voice saying his praise. The odd feeling has gone, only to be replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling inside her chest. "Thank you so much. I promise to do my best, always." It was enough for her.

_Until the next Friday, Rin._

* * *

**The next Monday, written on the school bulletin board, in bold letters:**

_We, the student council, regret to announce that the event, the Junior-Senior Prom, scheduled for February next year, has been cancelled._

* * *

** Uh-oh, so Sesshy cancelled the prom. What would Rin's reaction be when she sees this? Stay tuned guys.**


End file.
